Philippine peso

The peso (English and Spanish) or piso (Filipino) is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos (English) or sentimo (Filipino). The ISO 4217 name is "Philippine peso" and the code is "PHP". Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used. The language was then changed to Pilipino (the name of the Filipino language then) and so the currency as written on the banknotes and coins is piso.

The Philippine peso was established on May 1, 1852, when the Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel 2a (now the Bank of the Philippine Islands) introduced notes denominated in pesos fuertes (strong pesos, written PF). Until October 17, 1854, when a royal decree confirmed Banco Español-Filipino's by-laws, the notes were in limited circulation and were usually used for bank transactions. The peso replaced the real at a rate of 8 reales = 1 peso. Until 1886, the peso circulated alongside Mexican coins, some of which were still denominated in reales and escudos (worth 2 pesos).

Coin production commenced in 1861 and, in 1864, the Philippines decimalized, dividing the peso into 100 centimos de peso. The peso was equal to 226⁄7 grains of gold. In 1886, Philippine colonial authorities started the gradual phase-out of all Mexican coins in circulation in the Philippines, citing that Mexican coins were by then of lesser value than the coins minted in Manila.