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500 Pesos
| Issuer | Japanese Government (Japanese Occupation of the Philippines) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Pesos |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 500 THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT FIVE HUNDRED PESOS 大内 臣臧 府政國帝本日内 (Translation: Minister of Internal Affairs Imperial Government of Japan) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in olive-brown and composed entirely of ornamental engraved elements. A broad acanthus-scroll and wave-scroll vignette fills the lower centre, surmounted by the denomination legend in two lines. Denomination numerals "500" appear in all four corners within guilloche cartouches, and the whole field is enclosed by a multi-rule border interspersed with fine engine-turned lathe-work panels. |
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| Comments |
The so-called "Mickey Mouse money" issued by the Japanese Military Administration in the Philippines was derided by Filipinos almost from the start — inflation rendered it essentially worthless well before the war ended, and many Filipinos refused it outright or accepted it only under duress. The 500 Peso denomination, the highest in the 1944 series, was a direct consequence of that collapse: denominations had to keep climbing to remain functional for everyday transactions.
Bamboo-pulp paper was a wartime expedient, substituted as Japanese access to conventional paper stocks deteriorated. It ages poorly and is prone to brittleness at the folds — survivors in sound condition are less common than the notes' original print volumes would suggest.