1941-1944 Philippines Emergency Guerilla Currency 10-Note Set F/VF

Money Fit For a Guerilla

As the Japanese Empire spread throughout Southeast Asia in the late 1930s and early 1940s, it flooded each nation or colony it invaded with new circulating currency to help cement control. On December 8, just 10 hours after its sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan turned its systematic and terrifying program of conquering its neighbors towards the Philippines. Soon a whole new slough of banknotes began circulating throughout the Filipino islands.

Japan’s attempt at seizing control of the local economy by circulating its own currency was met with surprising resistance. Thousands of Filipino soldiers and civilians fled to the hills and jungles of the Philippines and waged a tenacious three-year guerilla campaign that matched the Japanese tit for tat – not only did the Filipino guerillas fight with guns, rockets and ambush attacks, but they also fought back by actually issuing their own money to help support the local war effort!

Because the guerilla forces were hampered by a shortage of paper, they often used recycled paper or paper made from other reconstituted materials. The notes themselves were often simple and featured simple crude images of prominent military and political figures such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and General Douglas MacArthur.

The 10 pieces in this collection represent a variety of these notes, each in Fine to Very Fine (F-VF) condition. These are genuine pieces of World War II history highly coveted by historians and World War II collectors alike. And, because all of these notes were quickly removed from circulation once the Philippines were liberated from Japanese occupation, most of these notes were destroyed making the few that survive today scare and hard to find. Get yours now – while you can still find them!