| The 1728 BARRILLA
was first found (and later reported) by Gilbert Perez of the PNAS in the
grounds of the University of Santo Tomas which was bring used as an internment
camp during the Japanese occupation of Manila. Until a few years ago, it
had been commonly accepted by the numismatic community that 1728 was the
year when currency with the basic attributes of a modern coin first appeared
in the Philippines. As a result of the feverish enthusiasm that had since
fueled numismatists, what appear to be even earlier forms of Philippine
coins have recently surfaced challenging this long-standing view.
The 1727 BARRILLA
featured here, cast from some base metal (probably lead) features on its
obverse a lion with the half-body of a fish, wielding a sword between a
figure "1" with a monogram that stands for BARRILLA and what appear to
be twin globes, pre-dating the famous Dos Mundos of Spanish fame. This
lion is one of the main heraldic figures in the royal seal of the City
of Manila founded in 1521 by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The reverse shows
an "M" which stands for MANILA bounded by a clear date (one year earlier
than 1728), ten dots and a star or sunburst.
Even earlier
is an undated uniface copper piece (top of photo). Its only inscription
appears to be the full seal of the City of Manila consisting of a crowned
shield enclosing a fort or tower atop the previously described sea lion.
When these uniface pieces first appeared, they were given the name CONDIN
and were thought to be government seals or weights rather than coins.
Recent studies
of available specimens however show no commonality in weight among the
specimens, and while the debate still rages, the view that condins may
well have been the first true modern Philippine coins has slowly gained
prominence. Mintages of coins above are unknown. At least FIVE examples
of condins are known to exist. |
