5 Pesos Circulating note, Red seal

The Philippine National Bank began issuing circulating notes denominated in pesos after the U.S. Treasury authorized local currency operations, and by the late 1930s the BEP-printed series had become the dominant paper medium in the archipelago. The red seal on this issue distinguishes it from earlier PNB circulating notes with different seal colors — a detail that matters for series identification more than most catalog descriptions acknowledge.

Japanese forces occupied Manila in January 1942 and promptly invalidated existing Philippine currency, issuing military scrip instead. PNB notes that survived the occupation often did so buried or hidden, and their physical condition reflects it.