Do not be surprised to see and use a 20-peso coin in the coming days. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has formally launched the 20-peso coin, now the highest denomination in the central bank’s New Generation Currency (NGC) Coin Series released in 2018—consisting of 10-peso, 5-peso, 1-peso, 25-centavo, 5-centavo, and 1-centavo coins.
Based on research by the University of the Philippines, the 20-peso banknote is the most-used denomination for payments nationwide. Thus, it is easily rendered unfit for circulation and returned to the BSP for replacement. The central bank asserts that producing a 20-peso coin will be more cost-efficient as it logically will take a longer circulation life compared to the popular 20-peso bill.
The newly launched 20-peso NGC coin will co-exist as a legal tender with the currently circulating 20-peso banknote, which will eventually be pulled out from the circulation through natural attrition.
As expected, the 20-peso coin retains the major elements of the current 20-peso note. The front side still features the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth—Manuel L. Quezon, the father of the national language, the creator of the National Economic Council, and a proponent of Philippine independence.
The backside of the coin features the BSP logo along with a visual of the Malacañan Palace, the official residence of the Philippine President since Quezon’s time. The coin also showcases the Nilad, a native plant variety in which the name of the country’s capital, Manila, is believed to have originated from. The Nilad’s star-shaped flowers once clustered in abundance along the banks of the Pasig River, where the Malacañan Palace is located.
To prevent possible confusion among consumers, the 20-peso coin has two easily distinguishable colors, making it stand out in the series of coins. As a security feature, it has micro prints plus an identifiable edge to deter counterfeiting.