Guerrilla Money

A history of WWII Philippines currency

Sea salvage

  • Sea salvage

    In April 1942, while the United States and Philippine soldiers were still fighting the Japanese invading army, roughly 350 TONS of silver was dumped by the allies into Manila Bay. This was done to prevent the Japanese from using the silver to fund their war efforts, since the Americans knew they were going to be…

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  • Japanese military medals

    The “puppet” government issued medals celebrating the creation of the government and the election/appointment of Jose Laurel. Homma Medal (JAPANESE ISSUED) (bronze)-

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  • Santo Tomas

    Santo Tomas

    Santo Tomas Internment Camp issued meal tickets to each internee every month. These had the name of the internee on it, their room number, the month, and areas to punch out when they received their morning and evening meals. The paper they were printed on was often left-over paper or reclaimed from other sources (business…

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  • Short Snorters

    “Short snorters” (at least the wartime versions) were money carried by soldiers who then had friends and fellow soldiers sign them as souvenirs of their tour of duty. If you ran into someone after signing a note for them and they no longer had it, they owed you a drink (a “short snort”). A few…

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