BREAKING INTO THE BANK

cowrie shells

I'm not talking about a major crime here... just a little catchy title for a visit to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. 

knife currency 

Unbeknownst to many Filipinos, the BSP holds the distinction of having two (yes, TWO!) museums within the complex. The more famous one is the Metropolitan Museum which houses priceless works of our masters in the visual arts.

jade coins

Aside from that, Fort San Antonio Abad also lies adjacent to the Met Museum where special events and dinners for the central bank are held. The fort was built by the Spaniards as a look out for pirates and invaders coming in from the Manila Bay. Eventually, the navy erected their headquarters in the area which is now known as the Jose Andrada Naval Station.

crocodile money

The main purpose of my visit, though, was the MONEY MUSEUM, mainly because it was part of the itinerary of Business Management students from the Aklan Catholic College who were in Manila last week.

barter rings

It's not very often visited by tourists. One, because it isn't as high profile as the other well-known museums in the country. And two, because one only visits it for a particular reason that borders on materialism. It deals with the history of money. Anyone who would be interested in how we developed our currency should go visit it.

pre-spanish coin

Anyone knows that people attach a certain value to material things. Ergo, our appreciation of money and what it can buy is a subjective thing. Money is a great indicator of a people's history. It, in a way, is a "billboard" of what makes a country distinct from the rest of the world. It is a microcosm of a people's struggle to create an ideal way of life for its citizens. And so, when you look at a bill, you will find portraits of people who have contributed greatly to society, flora and fauna endemic in a country, historical vignettes that shaped a nation and security features to prevent imitation and falsification.

galleon trade coins

What interests me about the money museum is the evolution of our medium of exchange. It had to progress somehow, somewhere. So from early examples of cowrie shells traded for other goods and services it slowly... over the centuries... became more state of the art. Cowrie shells! Really? It is surprising how the value of it changed over time. Nowadays, it's only good to mark your "bahay" for a game of "sungka". But in pre-colonial times these cowrie shells were even coated with gold for added value.

Spanish coins

The Money Museum has four sections: the pre-colonial, the Spanish colonial period, the American up to WWII, and the contemporary period. Side galleries include Layon which tackles how paper bills and coins are designed and finally minted, the installation art collections of the Central Bank and tucked away in a corner is the foreign currency collection which includes an ancient Roman coin.

galleon trade coins and Spanish medals

It really is worth a visit for those of you who are history buffs. The collection is well-curated and organized and just about anybody who wants to view the collection is welcomed provided they can present valid identification. 

pre-colonial jewelry

tamborin jewelry spanish colonial period