Culion
Private
Updated:
6/14/2024
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The presence of leprosy in The Philippines predates the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century. The earliest shelter was established by Franciscan Friars close to their monastery in Manila and the San Juan de Dios Hospital was later built on the same site. Leper settlements were established by the Spanish, but almost nothing was done to stop the spread of the disease. When U.S. forces arrived in Manila in 1898, they took over the Saint Lazarus Hospital and started to round up the thousands of lepers from Manila and the surrounding areas. In 1901, it was decided to segregate the lepers to their own colony and in 1906, the first group of 370 patients arrived at the new leper colony on Culion Island. Culion is a 150 square mile island approximately 200 miles southwest of Manila in the China Sea. The colony began declining in the mid 1930's but continued to be administered by the Philippine Department of Health until October 29, 1998.
Leprosy is a chronic infective disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract. It is characterized by skin lesions, loss of sensation, loss of function and eventual deformity if left untreated. The bacteria that causes leprosy was discovered in 1873 by the Norwegian physician Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, and the proper name for the disease is now "Hansen's disease." Although the cause was known, it would be nearly 70 years before a successful treatment would be available with the advent of antibiotics in the early 1940's.
In the early 1900's, the exact means of transmission of the disease was not known, so for health reasons the government decided that the colony would have it's own distinct coinage which would circulate only within the leper colony. Unlike most coinage that is organized hierarchically by denomination, type, and date, the Culion Leper Colony coinage is typically described in terms of the year in which it was issued and the denominations issued in that year. Coinage was issued in six different years beginning in 1913, and ending in 1930. In all issues the designs were simplistic and often crudely executed. The highest mintage of any date/denomination was 33,000 with most at 20,000 or less. With these small mintages it is very unlikely that the master hub and die approach was utilized. Each die was most likely cut by hand and in many cases lettered by stamping individual letters into the die to form words. This would account for the many significant die varieties, the uneven spacing and orientation between letters, and the variable doubling of individual letters.
The collection as defined by NGC is based on the distinct date and variety issues identified by Karuse & Mischler in their current "Standard Catalog of World Coins" and correspond with the 19 KM numbers (1-18 and A5) assigned for "The Philippines - Culion Leper Colony." Depending on the resource, there may actually be as many as 32 distinct date/denomination varieties. [UPDATE - May 1, 2014: NGC removed the 1930 One Centavo (KM-5) from this set sometime in late 2013 or early 2014 since these coins were probably destroyed and never issued. There are now only 18 coins and it is actually possible to assemble a complete set!]
1913 - First Issue
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The first issue of coins for the colony were minted by the private firm of Frank & Company in Manila. The six denominations were Half Centavo, One Centavo, Five Centavos, Ten Centavos, Twenty Centavos, and One Peso, all minted in Aluminum with the same simple design. The obverse is composed of the denomination surrounded by the text "CULION LEPER COLONY" and "PHILIPPINE ISLANDS." The reverse consists of a rather crude rendering of a Caduceus as the central element surrounded by the words "BUREAU OF HEALTH," two separating stars and the date .These coins did not hold up well in the hot and humid climate of the Philippines, and also suffered corrosion and pitting form the solution used for disinfecting them. Uncirculated specimens for all but the 1/2 Centavo are very difficult to obtain, and it is even difficult to find circulated specimens capable of avoiding the dreaded "Details" grade.
• Half Centavo - Mintage: 17,000 - No varieties, probably not ever released.
• One Centavo - Mintage: 33,000 - At least two and possibly as many as four distinct varieties.
• Five Centavos - Mintage: 6,600 - No varieties.
• Ten Centavos - Mintage: 6,600 - No varieties.
• Twenty Centavos - Mintage: 10,000 - No varieties.
• One Peso - Mintage: 8,600 - Three varieties.
1920 - Second Issue
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The second issue of coins were the first to be minted at the then new U.S. branch mint in Manila. Like all of the coinage issued by the Manila mint in 1920, they carry no mint mark. The design is essentially the same as that of the first series issued in 1913. Like the first series, they were also minted in Aluminum, but ever so slightly reduced in diameter. Only Ten Centavos, Twenty Centavos, and One Peso coins were minted in the second issue.
• Ten Centavos - Mintage: 20,000 - No varieties.
• Twenty Centavos - Mintage: 10,000 - No varieties.
• One Peso - Mintage: 4,000 - Three varieties.
1922 - Third Issue
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The third issue consisted of only Twenty Centavo and One Peso coins. The design was again very similar to the coins issued in 1913 and 1920, but unlike the previous two issues, these coins were minted in Copper-Nickel. The other major difference from 1920 is that the stylized letters "PhM" are counter-stamped at the center of the reverse signifying their origin as the Philippine Mint. Although only 8,280 Pesos were minted in 1922, there are two very distinct varieties. There are a number of differences on both the obverse and reverse, but the most recognizable is the shape of the wings on the Caduceus. The rare KM-17 variety exhibits wings with a downward curvature, whereas the more common KM-16 variety has relatively straight wings.
• Twenty Centavos - Mintage: 10,000 - At least two and possibly as many as four distinct varieties.
• One Peso - Mintage: 8,280 - Two varieties.
1925 - Fourth Issue
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Only 20,000 One Peso coins were issued in 1925. The design of this coin was completely different than any other Culion Lever Colony coin that preceded it. Although the peripheral text remained the same as previous issues, the denomination central to the obverse, was moved to the bottom of the reverse and replaced with a bust of the highly revered Philippine hero Dr. José Rizal. The reverse changed as well. The Caduceus was replaced with the seal of the Philippine Health Service, the denomination was placed at the bottom, and the date was reduced in size and resided between them. The Philippine Mint was identified by the letters "P" on the left side of the reverse under a star, and the letter "M" on the right side of the reverse under the other star. This was also the last Peso struck for the Leper Colony.
• One Peso - Mintage: 20,000 - No varieties.
1927 - Fifth Issue
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The fifth issue consisted of only One and Five Centavo coins. The design of these coins was very similar to the pesos minted in 1925. The obverse of the Five Centavos contained the bust of Rizal as in 1925, but the One Centavo contained the bust of the lawyer and statesman Apolinario Mabini. Three die varieties and two planchet thicknesses are known to exist for the One Centavo. The three major design types are part of the set listed below, but no attempt was made to differentiate between the use of thick and thin planchets. The Manila mint was identified in the same style as in 1925.
• One Centavo - Mintage: 30,000 - At least three and possibly as many as six distinct varieties.
• Five Centavos - Mintage: 16,000 - No varieties.
1930 - Sixth Issue
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The sixth issue in 1930 consisted of only One and Ten Centavo coins and the design was again significantly different than all that had preceded it. The legend on the coins was changed to read "Leper Colonies and Stations" to reflect the use of these coins not only in the Leper Colony on Culion Island, but also at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila. The mintage for the One Centavo is listed as 2,000, however it is listed by Krause and others as extremely rare, and was probably never issued. If one is ever seen though, it will have a bust of Dr. José Rizal on the obverse. The Ten Centavos coin has a bust of Andres Bonifacio facing 1/4 left inside a circle surrounded by the inscription "LEPER COLONIES AND STATIONS, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS." The reverse has the value and date in a circle surrounded by the inscription "PHILIPPINE HEALTH SERVICE, LEPER COIN TEN CENTAVOS." It is interesting to note that the mint of origin was identified on the coins of the three previous issues, but not on the coins of the sixth and final issue.
• One Centavo - Mintage: 2,000 - No known varieties, probably never actually issued. [UPDATE - May 1, 2014: NGC removed this coin from the set sometime in the last year, so it is now actually possible to complete this set!]
• Ten Centavos - Mintage: 17,000 - No varieties.
References:
• "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands" by Neil Shafer, Whitman Publishing Company Racine, Wisconsin, 1961: 41-45 ( Identifies coins by "SL" numbers 1-16 with varieties identified by letters.)
• "Coins, Medals and Tokens of the Philippines 1728-1974" by Aldo P. Basso, second edition Bookman Printing House, Quezon City, 1975: 76-80 (Identifies coins by numbers 225-240 with varieties identified by letters.)
• "The Numismatic Aspects of Leprosy" by R.R. McFadden, J, Grost, and D.F. Marr, D.C. McDonald Associates, Inc., 1993: 58-69 (Identifies coins by numbers 750-774 with varieties cited by type.)
• "Standard Catalog of World Coins" by Krause & Mischler (Identifies coins by their "KM" number 1-18 and A5.)
• "Piloncitos to Pesos, A brief History of Coinage in the Philippines" by Angelita Ganzon de Legarda, M.D., Bancom Development Corporation, 1976: 59-60
• "Leper Colony Coinage" by Julie Morgan, Coin World, August 12, 2002: 72
• "A special currency" - Coin Lore by Gerald Tebben, Coin World October 19, 2009
• "The Culion Leper Colony" by Margaret Marion Wheeler, R.N., The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 13, N. 9, June 1913: 663-666.
Rev. 5/2/2014
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