Japanese Invasion Money - The Philippines

The Philippines

On 10 December 1941 Japanese troops landed on Luzon. The Japanese overran Manila on 2 January 1942, and in the process captured more than $20.5 Million in U.S. and local cash and an unknown amount of foreign currency and bullion. The Japanese used this hard currency abroad to purchase raw materials, rice and weapons to fuel and feed its war machine. In its place, the Japanese issued several series of fiat currency. The first issue in 1942 consisted of denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 centavos and 1, 5, and 10 Pesos. The next year brought “replacement notes” of the 1, 5 and 10 Pesos while 1944 ushered in a 100 Peso note and soon after an inflationary 500 Pesos note. Near the end of the war in 1945 the Japanese issued a 1,000 Pesos note. Plates for this note were completed in Manila shortly before U.S. troops entered the city on 3 February 1945, and the Japanese printed the 1,000 Pesos note while they were retreating from Manila to Baguio. The Japanese were on the defensive and short of supplies, they diluted printer’s ink with duplicator fluid to stretch stores.