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JAA

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Journal Entries posted by JAA

  1. JAA
    Historians and archeologists have long regarded coins as important historical artifacts for understanding the culture and history of ancient peoples. That is why all world class museums include ancient coins in their collections. Modern coins and notes also reflect the historical and cultural context of their times.
    In order to fully appreciate the coins and notes in our collections it is important to understand the historical context in which they were created. While most numismatic reference books provide some historical context space limitations necessitate that the historical information in these publications is often highly condensed. It is impossible for these condensed summaries to fully convey the often complex historical context surrounding historically important coins and notes. In order to do so it is necessary to go beyond the basic numismatic reference material and study original source documents.
    Original source documents provide a much richer and more detailed understanding of historical context and really bring to life the importance of historically important numismatic specimens.
    My area of numismatic specialization is the coins and notes of the Philippines while they were under United States sovereignty. This is a particularly interesting and important period in United States and Philippine history. Fortunately America's experience as a "Colonial Power" and "Nation Builder" in the Philippines is well documented and many original source documents are available in the "National Archives", and museums in the United States and the Philippines.
    Over the years I have acquired a respectable private library of original source documents. My library includes out of print books written by the government officials, generals, and Guerilla leaders that played pivotal roles in the history of the Philippines under United States Sovereignty as well as official histories written by the "Center of Military History United States Army", and "The Historical Section of the Philippine Army". I also have certified copies of many original documents from the National Archives and the MacArthur Library. The documents from the National Archives and MacArthur Library are particularly fascinating to me as these once "Secret" but now declassified documents paint a very vivid picture of one of the most important periods in our nation's history. I am also privileged to own some of the original research notes and personal correspondence of the noted numismatic researcher and historian C.M. Nielsen.
    Today's Journal is the first of a series that I will be posting on Numismatics and History. In this series I will be highlighting some of the books, documents, research and private correspondence in my private collection. Hopefully I will also be able to share my enthusiasm for studying the historical context of our numismatic specimens.
    Today's offering is a certified copy of a declassified "Secret" U. S. Army document from the MacArthur Library. The document, which was not declassified until 1975, is the official transcript of a secret radio communication (dated January 16, 1943) from General MacArthur to LTC Marcario Peralta the Guerrilla commander in the central Philippines.
    Peralta was one of the most dynamic military leaders of the Philippine Resistance. He was born in Manila in 1913. In 1936 he graduated from the University of the Philippines with a law degree and a reserve commission in the Philippine Army. He was later commissioned in the regular forces and by the eve of World War II had risen to the rank of brevet Lieutenant Colonel.
    When the Japanese invaded the Philippines Peralta was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Training (G3) of the 61th Division Philippine Army which garrisoned the island of Panay in the central Philippines. As Division G3 Peralta oversaw the establishment and operation of a Guerrilla Training school to prepare the reservists of the 61th Division to carry on the fight in the event that the main U.S. and Philippine forces on the island of Luzon were overwhelmed. He was also responsible for the stockpiling of supplies and munitions in the mountainous interior of Panay.
    When Corregidor was overrun by the Japanese and Lieutenant General Jonathon Wainwright ordered all USAFFE (United States Army Forces Far East) forces in the Philippines to surrender Peralta refused to accept the order and told his Division commander, General Christie, that he would rather face court-martial after the war than surrender to the enemy.
    Christie sympathized with Peralta's position and sent several passionate communications to Major General Sharp the USAFFE commander in the central and southern Philippines requesting that the 61th Division be detached from Sharps command and be allowed to fight on. Sharp flatly refused and ordered Christie to surrender. In fairness to Wainwright and Sharp they had little choice since the Japanese were holding the American and Philippine garrison of Corregidor hostage and were threatening to execute one hundred prisoners a day until all American and Philippine forces in the Philippines surrendered.
    On May 21, 1942 Christie reluctantly ordered the 61th Division to surrender. At the last division staff meeting before surrender Peralta convinced Christie to turn over the division funds, consisting of sixty thousand pesos in Philippine currency, so that he could organize Guerrilla forces on Panay. Five thousand officers and soldiers of the 61th Division followed Peralta's example and refused to surrender.
    After the formal USAFFE surrender Peralta reorganized the 61th Division on Panay. After the 61th Division was fully operational Peralta extended his influence to other islands in the central Philippines and established the IV Philippine Corps. Peralta was the first Guerrilla commander to establish radio communication with MacArthur's Headquarters in Australia. By the end of the war Peralta commanded one of the largest and most effective Guerrilla commands in the Philippines. When American forces returned to the Philippines they found Peralta's Guerillas waiting for them on the beaches ready to join in the liberation of Panay.
    For his actions during War War II Peralta was awarded two of the U.S. Army's highest awards for valor the Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross. After the war Peralta went on to a distinguished career in the Philippine Army retiring as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army. After retiring from the army Peralta was elected to the Philippine Senate. He also served as the 13th Secretary of National Defense for the Republic of the Philippines.
    At the time of the radio communication of 1/16/1943 Peralta commanded the IV Philippine Corps which consisted of the 61st Division on the island of Panay, the 72nd Division on the island of Negros and the 83rd Division on Cebu. Please note the last line of the communication where General MacArthur authorized Peralta to "issue reasonable amounts of -script for military purposes only". This authorization served as the basis for the establishment of the Free Negros Military Currency Committee and their issuance of 1943 Military -script.
    The Military -script of 1943 consisted of "Army of the United States of America" notes in Two Pesos (S711 and S711a), Five Pesos (S712), Ten Pesos (S713), and Twenty Pesos (S714) denominations issued under the authority of the IV Philippine Corps and a second issue of One Peso (S715) and Twenty Peso (S716) notes issued later in the year under the authority of the 7th Military District.

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  2. JAA
    My father belonged to the "Greatest Generation". During World War ll he served in the U.S. Army in the Southwest Pacific where he participated in the New Guinea, Luzon, and Southern Philippine campaigns. When he returned from the war he brought back with him examples of coins and notes from Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines as well as some amazing Kodachrome slides he took during the war.
    Even though many decades have passed since my father first showed me the coins and notes he collected in the Southwest Pacific I still remember my initial fascination with dad's strange U.S. Philippine notes and coins.
    They all clearly stated "United States of America" on them but had designs that I had never seen on any circulating U.S. coin or note. Even stranger their denominations were in Pesos and Centavos instead of the familiar Dollars and Cents. As I grew older and became a serious junior collector I came to realize the historical importance of my father's "Victory Notes" and coins.
    Although my father was not a coin collector he was always very supportive of my hobby. When I was eleven or twelve I joined a local coin club and dad would always make time from his busy schedule to attend the monthly meeting with me.
    My father is responsible for my interest in both the numismatics and history of the Philippines under U.S. Sovereignty. In addition to the coins, notes, and color slides that my father brought back with him he had many wondrous stories of his war time buddies, the warm Australian and Philippine civilians, the Philippine Guerrillas, and of course General MacArthur.
    My father was assigned to GHQ (General Headquarters Southwest Pacific Area) where his duties occasionally brought him into direct contact with the General MacArthur. Of course there were hundreds of staff at GHQ and my father was only a lowly Warrant Officer. One of my father's fondest memories and favorite stories was the time that he shared an elevator with the General MacArthur when GHQ was still in Australia and the general greeted him by name and inquired how he was doing.
    For many decades my father talked about making a return visit to Australia and the Philippines. That never happened. My father passed away in 2004 two days after his 85th birthday.
    When my father died I inherited the letters he wrote during the war, his priceless Kodachrome slides, and the coins and notes he collected in the Southwest Pacific. While his "Victory Notes" and coins may not be in the best condition I will always treasure them more highly than the rarest GEMS in my collection.
    All of the Philippine coins and notes in the attached picture were acquired by my father during the liberation of the Philippines.
    Top Row - One Peso Philippines Victory Note (Face). Note the "Victory Series NO. 66" at the top right and lower left, and 1944-S One Centavo (Obverse).
    Second Row - 1944-S Five Centavos (Obverse), 1944-D Ten Centavos (Obverse), 1944-D Twenty Centavos (Obverse), 1944-S Fifty Centavos (Obverse).
    Third Row - Three Kodachrome Slides taken by my father during the liberation of the Philippines. Exposed film had to be sent to Australia for processing (Note the red "MADE IN AUSTRALIA" stamp on the top of the first slide) then approved by the Military Censor before being mailed to my mother in the United States. Note the "APPROVED FOR MAILING U.S. CENSOR" stamp on the top of the second slide. Also on the third row is a second 1944-S Fifty Centavos (Reverse).
    Fourth Row - One Peso Philippines Victory Note (Back). Note the "Victory" overstamp.

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  3. JAA
    Leyte 1943 Military Issue Notes in One Peso,2 Pesos,5 Pesos, and 10 Pesos denominations have been known to collectors since 2002.
    The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money - Specialized Issues has some nice historical background regarding the Leyte 1943 Military Issue but then goes on to state that no such notes are known to numismatics. This information is very much out of date.
    Since I used to believe everything that I read in Pick I was very much suprised in June 2011 when I saw a pair of Unc Leyte 1943 Military Issue (1 Peso and 2 Pesos) notes offered on ebay by the Heritage Art Center in Manila. Since I know that there are a lot of counterfeit notes coming out of Manila lately I downloaded the ebay images and forwarded them to Ray Czahor at Cookie Jar Collectibles for his opinion.
    For those of you that do not know Ray he is a professional numismatist and one of the foremost authorities on Philippine coins and notes. Ray is listed in the acknowledgements section of many of our numismatic bibles including the Red Book, U.S./Philippine Coins(the Allen Catalog), and the Standard Catalog of Paper Money Specialized Issues.
    Ray checked the photos against the reference notes in his collection and thought that they looked authentic. I purchased the notes and when they arrived they were indeed CU.
    The next time that I saw Leyte 1943 Military Issue Notes offered was in October 2011 when One Peso, 2 Pesos and 5 Pesos notes were listed in Cookie Jar Collectibles Philippine Mail Bid Sale XVI. The 1 Peso and two Pesos were listed as CU and the 5 Pesos AU with a slight tear on the top edge. I purchased the 5 Pesos note and the one and two pesos notes went unsold.
    Another purchase that I made in Philippine Mail Bid Sale XVI was volume one of The New Pesos Fuertes, the Bank Note Society Of The Philippines Journal, from August 2005. Several important articles were in the journal including an article on Overstamps On Japanese Invasion Money Of The Philippines (JIM) by Aldo Basso; and World War ll Emergency Service Currency For Mountain Province by John Hunt. Most importantly was an article by Jose M. Escano on the Leyte Province 1943 Military Issue.
    Escanos article had additional information regarding this issue that is not reported in Pick as well as descriptions and plates of the face and back of all four denominations.
    Since The New Pesos Fuertes has never had a very large circulation outside of the Philippines the information in this important article is probably unknown to most collectors and perhaps even to the editors of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money Specialized Issues. For this reason I will quote some of the new information published in the Escano article.
    Quote: No specimen or picture appeared of any of the guerilla notes reportedly coming from the Leyte Province 1943 Military Issue, and no such notes circulated among collectors until about (3) years ago. guerilla notes with denominations of one peso, two pesos, five pesos and ten pesos (see Plates 1 to 8) surfaced from a small collection which came from reliable sources from the Samar/Leyte area. The ten peso denomination note is the rarest since not more than 10 pieces came out, so only a few collectors were fortunate enough to have this note for their collections.(Escano, 2005)
    Quote: The materical card or paper used are far different, and the design and wordings on the four different denominations are so unique and different that these negate any suspicion on the authenticity and genuiness of these Leyte Province notes. Forger would probably use similar or copied from existing guerilla notes coming from other provinces. Only the highly cynical non-collectors of guerilla notes would insist on questioning these notes. Their stubborn attitude shows their apparent ignorance on Philippine emergency and guerilla notes.(Escano, 2005)
    When I compared my peso, two pesos, and five pesos notes to the plates and descriptions in the Escano article everything matched. In fact my 2 Pesos note (serial number 00263) is the actual 2 Pesos note illustrated in Plate 03 and 04 of the Escano article.
    Another interesting observation is that the hand writting on the labels affixed to the protective holders the three specimens came in is identical. This is very intriging since the 1 Peso and 2 Pesos came from a dealer in the Philippines and the 5 Pesos was a consignment from the widow of a collector in the United States. Apparently at one time all three of these notes must have been owned by the same individual.
    The picture attached to this Journal entry is a scan of the face of my three notes.
    See my Journal entry: Leyte 1943 Military Issue (Unlisted in Pick) Additional Photos http://notes.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=10598 for photos of the backs of these notes.
    If you are interested in USA/Philippine coins visit my USA/Philippine Type Set at: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=51257

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  4. JAA
    Photos of the Back of my Leyte 1943 Military Issue notes.
    See my Journal entry: Leyte 1943 Military Issue (Unlisted in Pick) http://notes.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=10597 for photos of the face of these notes.
    If you are interested in USA/Philippine coins visit my USA/Philippine Type Set at: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=51257

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