ONE and FIVE Centavos

Due to a lack of use for very small denominations of the peso, one centavo coins are no longer produced by the BSP. The leftmost one centavo coin was used during the American Colonial Period, while the next three were produced in the latter half of the century showing the face of the first recorded Filipino hero, Datu Lapu-lapu of Mactan, who fought against the Spaniards and prevented their entry to the Philippines in the early 1500s.

Five centavo coins are still in circulation today. The modern coin (not in photo) is a small bronze-colored coin with a circular hole in the middle. The first two 5-centavo coins in the photo are both from the American Colonial Period with the same man in the face of the coin, but differed in size. The next two, produced also in the latter half of the century showed the face of Melchora Aquino, a female hero in the Spanish Colonial Era also referred to as "Tandang Sora".

For interested collectors, please contact the Philippine Peso Collector through email at philippinepesocollector@gmail.com.