A walk through history

Nothing could be more appropriate to the occasion. The exhibit is titled "A Brief History of Philippine Currency," and consists of old bank notes and coins. The exhibit is in cooperation with the Philippine Numismatics and Antiquarian Society, and is taking place at the Ayala Museum.

The exhibit "A Glimpse of the Best" is happening simultaneously with the coins and currency exhibit. "A Glimpse of the Best" showcases early Philippine prints and artworks by Juan Luna and National Artists Fernando Amorsolo, Napoleon Abueva, Carlos "Botong" Francisco, Vicente Manansala, H. R. Ocampo, Cesar Legaspi, Arturo Luz, Ang Kiukok and J. Elizalde Navarro from the BPI art collection.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) celebrates its 150th anniversary. For the occasion, starting Aug. 15, it walks the crowd – its clientele on ordinary days – through history, one endured by the country under Spain and the United States and, after independence, as a sovereign country.

And what could be a more effective aid in understanding that history than a glimpse of the enduring legacy of the country’s currency? It is a legacy that propelled the country towards modernity and gave the bank, then as now, its pre-eminent position not only in the country but also the region as well.

It all began on Aug. 1, 1851. On that date Queen Isabel II of Spain issued a royal decree establishing the financial institution that would dominate the country’s banking system for the next one-and-a-half century. The bank, understandably, was called Banco Español Filipino de Isabel II. Later, however, the monarch was deposed, following a revolution in Spain itself. The revolution in the Philippines would not occur until after a number of decades.

Indeed, it can be said that the mother country set a bad example for its American and Asian colonies. The result was the dissolution of the Spanish Empire.

But again, that was still many years into the future. In the meantime, official documents would reflect the vicissitudes of time. The bank would have to drop the queen from its official name and henceforth would be known simply as Banco Español Filipino. At the height of the American Occupation, it would take on its recent name.

Political reality has left an imprint on the country’s paper notes and coins as well.

As the oldest commercial bank in the Philippines, BPI had the unique opportunity to issue the first paper money in the country – and it seized that opportunity barely five years after inauguration.

BPI called the paper money pesos fuertes or strong pesos. The term was no idle boast, the paper money being redeemable in Mexican gold and silver coins, which was arguably, the strongest currency at the time. It was this paper money that served as centerpiece for the exhibit that includes, as the viewer could see, a complete collection of coins and medals that were minted at important periods of the country’s history.

The country’s varied experiences, its important periods in history, whether endured as a colony initially under the Spaniards and later under the Americans or as a sovereign country under a dictatorship or under the most rambunctious democracy in this part of the world, are all that is reflected by the bank notes and coins that now form an important part of the exhibit.

Using the last World War, the country went through the ordeal of being occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army, and the currency issued at the time reflects this. That the currency became worthless as soon as it was printed doesn’t make it any less interesting to the serious collector.

Old bank notes and coins are valued according to their rarity. The price of a coin on the open market – collectors trade with or buy from one another all the time – has nothing to do with its intrinsic value. Its gold and silver content is nothing compared to the price it can command in its original state.

For instance, a dos mundos coin, minted and issued some centuries ago by the Spanish in Mexico, fetched $30,000 recently on the auction block, and yet it doesn’t have enough gold in it to make a man’s bracelet.