Philippine Currency: The Peso

The Philippines uses peso for its currency. In the Philippines, it is referred to as piso and is represented by the code PHP or PhP. The Philippine peso is issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or the Central Bank of the Philippines for circulation.

The Philippine peso is divided into coins and banknotes. The Philippine coin is available in seven denominations: one peso, five pesos, 10 pesos, 25 sentimos or cents, 10 sentimos or cents, five sentimos or cents and one sentimo or cent.

The one, five, and 10-peso coins are widely circulated. The four other remaining denominations are still in circulation although they are seldomly used.

The 2004 version of the one-peso coin is made up of 65% copper and 35% zinc. It is round and reeded. On one side, the one-peso coin features the profile of Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. Its reverse side shows the logo of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The five-peso coin is made up of 70% copper, 5.5% nickel, and 24.5% zinc. It is characterized by its round shape with a 12- scallop design border. Its obverse side shows a profile of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first Philippine president.

The 10-peso coin first came out in 2000. Its ring is made up of 75% copper and 25% nickel while its center is 92% copper, 6% aluminum and 2% nickel. It features the profile of two Philippine heroes: Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini.

The Philippine banknotes are available in nine denominations. This includes five pesos, 10 pesos, 20 pesos, 50 pesos, 100 pesos, 200 pesos, 1,000 pesos and 2,000 pesos.

The five and 10 peso bills were replaced with coins, although banknotes of these denominations are still legal to tender.

Only 300,000 pieces of the 2,000 peso bill were issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. This is a commemorative banknote that shows former President Joseph Estrada's oath-taking on the obverse side while the reverse side shows the depiction of the Proclamation of Independence by Former President Fidel Ramos on June 12, 1998.