Owner Comments:
This coin was minted by the Manila Mint and features a new design, departing from the previous coin designs that have a caduceus as the main device. It was the only Culion Leper Colony coin issued in 1925 and has no known varieties.
The obverse shows the bust of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal, facing 3/4 to the right. The words "CULION LEPER COLONY" on top, and "PHILIPPINE ISLANDS" at the bottom, are separated by a pair of stars.
On the reverse we see the seal of the Philippine Health Service, an Eagle with wings open above a shield with a scroll at the bottom. The words, "PHILIPPINE HEALTH SERVICE" go around on top, and at the bottom, separated by a pair of stars, is the coin's denomination, "ONE PESO" with the date "1925" above. The coin's mint mark, "PM" (which stands for Philippine Mint) is inscribed as separate letters found below each of the stars. The star to the left has the letter P below it, while the star on the right has an M below it.
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Don't let the image discourage you. In hand, this coin has appeal. Its strike is sharp, it has minimal wear, and most of the original luster remains. Unfortunately, the practice of cleaning and disinfecting these coins took a toll on this otherwise near-mint coin. I had this coin in my collection and I sent it in for encapsulation so I can have a specimen for the registry. I am hoping to get a better one in the near future.
⚙️ Coin Specifications and Information
Composition: Copper-nickel
Weight: 13.90 gm
Diameter: 35.4 mm
Edge: Plain
Alignment: ⬆️ ⬇️
Mintage: 20,000
KM# 18
📆 This Year In Philippine History
On October 18, 1925, the biggest and much-publicized Balagtasan between two of the Philippines’ best poets José Corazon de Jesus and Florentino Collantes, was held at the Olympic Stadium in Manila.
Balagtasan is a Filipino form of debate done in verse. Derived from the name of Francisco Balagtas(one of the greatest Filipino literary laureates), this art presents a type of literature in which thoughts or reasoning are expressed through speech. Mainly done for entertainment, the poets in a balagtasan include humor, sarcasm, wit, and dramatic flair in their logical arguments and reasoning during the debate.
The circumstances leading to this historic event began on March 28, 1924, five days before Balagtas' birthday. A few writers met up at the Instituto de Mujeres, In Tondo, Manila, Philippines to prepare for the celebration of Balagtas Day on April 2, 1924. That building was the office of Rosa Sevilla, a well-known writer. There they created the concept of the balagtasan with some suggesting a modern duplo.
Then, on April 6, 1924, the first balagtasan took place at the Instituto de Mujeres. The event was held at the Instituto de Mujeres (Women's Institute) as part of the celebration of Francisco Balagtas' birth anniversary. The two protagonists of the poetic debate were poets José Corazón de Jesús and Florentino Collantes.
Due to the successful public reception of that first balagtasan between De Jesus and Collantes, several more balagtasans involving the two were prepared. The two skilled poets proved to be so ingenious that a balagtasan without a script was planned and this time, it was held a large venue for all to see—on October 18, 1925 at the Olympic Stadium in Manila.
The dueling poets’ topic during that famous balagtasan was "The Filipina Girl: Then and Now." De Jesus took the side of women in the past while Collantes chose women today. At the end of the balagtasan, De Jesus won and was crowned the first "Hari ng Balagtasan" (King of the Balagtasan).
After the performance of De Jesus and Collantes in 1925 until the end of World War II, the verbal joust became popular among both the masses, intellectuals, and poets coveted the title of "Hari ng Balagtasan". This led to the adaptation of similar literary forms such as the bukanegan by the Ilocanosnamed after the father of Iloko literature, Pedro Bukaneg.
Filipino poets in the Spanish language, specifically Jesus Balmori and Manuel Bernabe, also engaged in balagtasan competitions, and their poetic jousts featured and immortalized in the book with the title Balagtasan: Justa Poetica (1927), with a prologue written by Teodoro Kalaw. Balagtasan saw a significant decline after the death of de Jesus in 1932.
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đź“– Information sources:
Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 2). Sheldon coin grading scale. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:30, September 5, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sheldon_coin_grading_scale&oldid=960391269
NGC, World Coin Price Guide, Philippines Coin Price Guide (Powered by NumisMaster), Retrieved 19:40, September 6, 2021, from https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/philippines-culion-island-peso-km-18-1925-cuid-1084985-duid-1520223
Numista Exonumia Catalog. Exonumia from Philippines. Retrieved 19:42, September 6, 2021, from https://en.numista.com/catalogue/exonumia21630.html
Philippine Coin Catalog. Culion Leper Colony Coins. Retrieved 23:20, October 1, 2022, from https://www.numismatics.ph/coins/culion-leper-colony/1925-one-peso.html
Wikipedia contributors. (2022, September 14). Balagtasan. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:38, October 8, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Balagtasan&oldid=1110176541
Wikipedia contributors. (2022, October 8). Francisco Balagtas. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:40, October 9, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francisco_Balagtas&oldid=1114798262