Chapter II
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES AND LITERATURE
RELATED STUDIES
The Philippines' first coin was the Penniform Gold Barter Ring that the country adapted. This coin is believed to have been circulated between the eighth and the 14th centuries. Specimens of varisized gold artifacts resembling this type have been recovered from many archaeological sites in Laguna, Rizal, Mindoro, Cebu, Leyte and Bohol together with 12th- 14th-century Oriental ceramic tradewares. These gold rings were probably used by the Filipinos' ancestors in trading with the Chinese. A coin in the form of a small conical gold nugget, called the piloncito, appeared next. On its flat base was an embossed inscription, which some scholars say is the character Ma, or the letter M, in the ancient Tagalog script. With the Spaniards, who arrived in the early 16th century, came the coins of Spain and Mexico. Local currency took in the minted cobs of various polygonal shapes, known locally as hilis kalamay, the round- milled coins that bore portraits of Spanish monarchs, and the beautiful Mexican silver Pillar Dollar, or Dos Mundos, which were predominantly used in many parts of the world. The Dos Mundos was highly regarded for the integrity of its silver content and weight. The barilla is believed to have been the first coin struck in the Philippines. This was a crude brass coin approximately equivalent to one centavo. Available specimens show the inscription on the outer edge - Barilla, Ano de 1728 - and the coat of arms of the City of Manila in the inner circle. In 1766 a second type of barilla, made of copper, about half the size of the first Spanish barilla, appeared. The Tagalog, like the Mexicans, pronounced the double / as y, and small coins, or change, came to be known as barya. Other coins used in the country between 1782 and 1835 were varieties of the octavo and the quarto, bearing the names of Spanish rulers and the coat of arms of Spain. Eight octavos, or four
REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES AND LITERATURE
RELATED STUDIES
The Philippines' first coin was the Penniform Gold Barter Ring that the country adapted. This coin is believed to have been circulated between the eighth and the 14th centuries. Specimens of varisized gold artifacts resembling this type have been recovered from many archaeological sites in Laguna, Rizal, Mindoro, Cebu, Leyte and Bohol together with 12th- 14th-century Oriental ceramic tradewares. These gold rings were probably used by the Filipinos' ancestors in trading with the Chinese. A coin in the form of a small conical gold nugget, called the piloncito, appeared next. On its flat base was an embossed inscription, which some scholars say is the character Ma, or the letter M, in the ancient Tagalog script. With the Spaniards, who arrived in the early 16th century, came the coins of Spain and Mexico. Local currency took in the minted cobs of various polygonal shapes, known locally as hilis kalamay, the round- milled coins that bore portraits of Spanish monarchs, and the beautiful Mexican silver Pillar Dollar, or Dos Mundos, which were predominantly used in many parts of the world. The Dos Mundos was highly regarded for the integrity of its silver content and weight. The barilla is believed to have been the first coin struck in the Philippines. This was a crude brass coin approximately equivalent to one centavo. Available specimens show the inscription on the outer edge - Barilla, Ano de 1728 - and the coat of arms of the City of Manila in the inner circle. In 1766 a second type of barilla, made of copper, about half the size of the first Spanish barilla, appeared. The Tagalog, like the Mexicans, pronounced the double / as y, and small coins, or change, came to be known as barya. Other coins used in the country between 1782 and 1835 were varieties of the octavo and the quarto, bearing the names of Spanish rulers and the coat of arms of Spain. Eight octavos, or four