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| Salapi: The Numismatic Heritage of the Philippines |
In December 2018, I was fortunate to be part of a special tour of the BPI Museum in Cebu City. The museum is housed in a Neoclassical architectural building designed by Juan Marcos Arellano. The design was popular during the American Colonial Period. Arellano also designed the Cebu Provincial Capitol building in 1937.
Opened in 1941, the building became the main branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. Located at the crossroads of Magallanes and P. Burgos streets and situated on a parcel of land formerly owned by the Augustinian Order.
In 1991, the BPI building was declared a National Historical Landmark and bestowed with a marker. Another milestone for it happened in 2011 when the BPI Museum was officially opened during the bank's 160th anniversary. And recently, in 2024, it was declared an Important Cultural Property.
During that museum visit, we were guided by Mr. Carlos L. Apuhin, who championed the creation of the BPI Museum. Mr. Apuhin used to be the manager of that particular branch. In fact, he also worked with a cousin of mine when they were both with BPI. The BPI Museum is dedicated to the history of banking with artifacts that include one of the first ATMs, an early 20th-century heavy vault, accounting books, and other various banking-related items.
The best part of the museum is their Money collection. I wrote about that visit in a 2018 December article. You can find the link to that post in the Comment section.
The BPI Collection has some of the rarest money currency that circulated in the Philippines. From the 16th century Macuquina (cob) coins to the famous 'Pieces of Eight' (Dos Mundos) to the first-ever Peso Fuertes and various 20th century incarnations. The whole history of Philippine Currency can be learned in this Cebu Museum.
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| Dos Mundos coins |
The coffee table book, "Salapi: The Numismatic Heritage of the Philippines", authored by Mr. Carlos Ledesma Apuhin and Professor Jobers Reynes Bersales was published in 2014 by the BPI Foundation, Inc. It has 287 pages and features the numismatic collections of BPI, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and private individuals.
I first saw a copy displayed at the museum, but by that time, copies were hard to find.
A couple of years later, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was lucky to get the book directly from Mr. Apuhin. He graciously signed the book. I hope that I'll have an opportunity for Professor Jobers to autograph it as well.
I'm still saving up for Professor Ambeth R. Ocampo's massive book, "Yaman: History and Heritage in Philippine Money The Numismatic Collection of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas". Professor Ocampo did mention that an online version is available, but owning a hard copy is still the best choice for me.
I am planning to visit the BPI Museum this year and review their exhibits again, just in time for the bank's celebration of its 175th Anniversary.
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| Table of Contents: Salapi Book |
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| Philippine Money circa American Colonial Period |
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Read More:
The History of Philippine Money at the BPI Museum and Library
Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Chinese Lions
Echoes of Intramuros Manila: Tombstones on the Streets
Carmen Guerrero Nakpil's Heroes and Villains
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