Philippine two-peso note

The Philippine two-peso note (Filipino: Dalawang Piso) (₱2) was a denomination of Philippine currency. On its final release, José Rizal was featured on the front side of the bill, while the Declaration of the Philippine Independence was featured on the reverse side.^[1]

Two pesos

Country	Philippines
Value	2 pesos
Width	160 mm
Height	66 mm
Security features	Security fibers, Watermark, Concealed value, Security thread
Material used	90% cotton 10% linen
Years of printing	1903–1983
Obverse
Design	José Rizal
Design date	1973
Reverse
Design	Declaration of Philippine independence
Design date	1973

This banknote was circulated until it was demonetized in 1993. Its printing was ceased in 1983, when it was replaced by coins upon the introduction of the Flora and Fauna coin series.^[2]

History

Pre-independence

• 1903: Philippine Islands issued silver certificates.^[3] Features a portrait of José Rizal.

	Series of 1903	Series of 1906
Obverse and Reverse

• 1916: PNB issued notes.^[4] Features a portrait of José Rizal.
• 1918–1929: Philippine Treasury Certificates issued with a portrait of José Rizal.

	Series of 1918	Series of 1924	Series of 1929
Obverse and Reverse

• 1937: Philippine Commonwealth issued treasury certificate.^[5] Features a portrait of José Rizal. This series were later overprinted with the word "VICTORY" on the reverse after the liberation of the Philippines under Japanese rule in 1944.^[6]
• 1949: Philippine Treasury Certificates issued with VICTORY

Version history

	Philippines (1936-1941)	Victory Series No. 66 (1944)	Victory-CBP Banknote Series (1949)
Obverse
Reverse

Independence

• 1951: English series,^[7] Features the portrait of José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. The reverse features the landing of Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines in 1521.
• 1973: The denomination was not included upon the introduction of the Pilipino series bills.^[8] It was later introduced in the Ang Bagong Lipunan series.^[1] The banknote adopts the design elements from the demonetized one peso bill; Rizal's profile is featured on the obverse, and on the reverse, it featured the Declaration of the Philippine Independence. The note is predominantly blue in color.
• 1985: The two peso bill was not included when the New Design series^[2] was introduced and was later replaced by coins two years before.^[9] The banknote was officially demonetized, together with the other Ang Bagong Lipunan series banknotes on February 2, 1996.

Version history

	English Series (1951–1974)	Ang Bagong Lipunan Series (1973–1996)
Obverse
Reverse

Commemorative issues

Throughout its existence, the two peso bill has been overprinted to commemorate certain events:

• Papal visit of Pope John Paul II: In 1981, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued a commemorative banknote for the visit of Pope John Paul II in the Philippines. The overprint features his coat of arms and around it is "PAGDALAW NG PAPA JUAN PABLO II - PEB 17-22, 1981".^[10]

Printing years

Banknote series	Year	President of the Philippines	BSP Governor
English Series	1951–1953	Elpidio Quirino	Miguel Cuaderno Sr.
	1953–1957	Ramon Magsaysay
	1957–1960	Carlos P. Garcia
	1961		Andres V. Castillo
	1961–1965	Diosdado P. Macapagal
Ang Bagong Lipunan Series	1973–1981	Ferdinand E. Marcos	Gregorio S. Licaros
	1981–1984	Jaime C. Laya