Culion 1925 peso

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This coin was minted for the leper colony on Culion Island, the Philippines, in 1925. There was a widespread belief that leprosy could be spread by exchanging money, so several governments issued special coins for their leper colonies. Besides the Philippines, leper colony coins are known from Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. Advances in medical knowledge have dispelled this myth and most of the colonies have closed and the coinage redeemed. The Philippine Health Service issued base-metal pesos for Culion Island in 1913, 1920, 1922 and 1925, each a different type. The coins are not rare today but usually come in low grade as they circulated heavily and were not saved. This type bears a bust of hero José Rizal.

Recorded mintage: 20,000.

Specification: copper-nickel.

Catalog reference: KM 18.

Source:

• Basso, Aldo P., Coins, Medals and Tokens of the Philippines, Menlo Park, CA: 1968.
• Ganzon de Legarda, Angelita, Piloncitos to Pesos, A Brief History of Coinage in the Philippines, Manila: Bancom Development Corporation, 1976.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

Links to:

• 1905 peso
• Culion 1913 1/2 centavo
• Culion 1913 5 centavos
• Culion 1922-PM peso
• 1925-M 5 centavos
• Culion 1927-PM centavo
• Culion 1927 5 centavos
• Culion 1930 10 centavos
• Coins and currency dated 1925