Catalog
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| Issuer | Cebu Emergency Currency Board |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Vignette of Manuel L. Quezon at upper left within an oval frame, with the denomination numeral '20' repeated at all four corners. The circular seal of the Commonwealth of the Philippines appears at lower right, accompanied by three manuscript signatures identifying the Acte. Prov. Treasurer, Acte. Prov. Auditor, and City Treasurer. A repeating 'EMERGENCY CURRENCY' underprint fills the background, and the serial number appears twice in red. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | TWENTY PESOS ISSUED BY THE CEBU EMERGENCY CURRENCY BOARD CEBU CITY PHILIPPINES XX TWENTY PESOS TWENTY PESOS PESOS PESOS |
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| Comments |
The Cebu Emergency Currency Board was one of dozens of local Philippine authorities that began issuing emergency notes almost immediately after the Japanese invasion of December 1941. With the Commonwealth government displaced and normal banking channels severed, provincial and municipal boards filled the vacuum — legally, under pre-war emergency powers legislation, though the practical authority behind these notes was whatever the local resistance could sustain.
Cebu held out longer than most. The island was not occupied until April 10, 1942, meaning these notes had a functioning, if desperate, economic life behind them. Once Japanese forces took control, all Commonwealth emergency currency was declared void, and most surviving stocks were either surrendered or destroyed to keep them from being used as evidence against their holders.
The S224 series is scarce precisely because its circulation window was so narrow — roughly three to four months at most.