There’s a new kid on the block: the 20 peso coin.
The bi-metallic coin – a silver center surrounded by a copper ring – features a youthful Manuel L. Quezon, the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth. Quezon is mostly remembered for having pushed passionately for Philippine independence (saying “I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans.”), for spearheading the push to adopt a national language; and for the creation of the National Economic Council, the precursor of the National Economic Development Authority.
What isn’t often remembered, however, is that it what during his Presidency that women’s suffrage in the Philippines scored its first major victories: first on 30 April 1937, in a special plebiscite where 447,725 women voted in favor of the extending the right to vote to women; and then at the general elections held on the 14th of December 1937, which became the first election in the Philippines in which Filipino women were allowed to vote and run for public office.
But back to the 20 peso coin.
The reverse side features the BSP logo and the Malacañan Palace. Incidentally, Quezon was the first Philippine president to reside in the palace by the Pasig river. A sprig of nilad features prominently, following the NGC coin series theme.
This coin was launched by BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno last 17 December 2019. At that event, Diokno explained that the design of the coin emphasized “the cultural and historical significance of coins to Philippine society.” The two-colored design of the 20-Piso coin – the highest denomination coin in the BSP’s New Generation Currency (NGC) coin series – makes it “easily distinguishable and highly secure,” Diokno added.
I don’t know about secure – I imagine that makes sense as it would most likely be more difficult to counterfeit a coin with two different colored metals – but it certainly is easily distinguishable. On a counter top with a bunch of other denomination coins, yeah, this 20-peso coin really does stand out.
On a more practical note, however, I have to say that this coin is still pretty easy to tell apart – not because of how it looks – but because of its size. I walked around for the better part of a day with this coin in my pocket, along with about fifteen pesos in loose change, and tried to see how often I would pull it out by mistake and how often I could fish it out deliberately. In both categories, the I and the coin did pretty well. Out of ten trials, I didn’t once take it out by mistake, and was able to identify it by touch ten out of ten times.
Still, I do prefer the 20 peso note – I’m not a big fan of jangly money for a whole slew of reasons. However, I have to be honest and point out that many of the arguments against having a 20 peso coin echo the griping that came with the introduction of the 10 peso coin 20 years ago (!) in 2000.
And anyway, according to a study done by the University of the Philippines, the 20 peso note – essentially the workhorse of Philippine currency – apparently lasts only about a year in circulation (which makes me wonder if we could mark a bunch of twenty peso bills and track them a year later to see if they’re still in circulation), while coins last 10 to 15 years. This makes coins a smarter and more cost-efficient choice.
Overall, I would say that, despite my misgivings about coins in general, this one was well-designed and is well made. I like the feel of it in my palm and while lighter than the bi-metallic ten peso coin, it doesn’t have that token-y feel that the other NGC coins have.
