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A brief explaination might be in order here for people who are unfamiliar with this area of numismatics.
When the Japanese invaded the Philippine Islands (hours after bombing Pearl Harbor), some soldiers and civilians took to the hills and mountains to fight against the invaders. As the 'official' defense of the islands dwindled into defeat for the Philippinos and the Americans, the resistance grew in strength and numbers.
By the end of the war, entire islands had already been liberated from the Japanese in every way but by name. The currency represented in this section
of the web site iwas printed by these guerrilla fighters, the municipalities (towns) and the provinces (states) that they defended.
To be captured with this currency in your possession was often punishable by public humiliation and then death. Still, the Philippino people had such faith in MacArthers´ promise to return that they would rather (for the most part, anyway) risk death than use the Japanese Invasion Money (see the JIM section for more on that subject).
This is obviously an overly-simplified description of the state of events, but it will hopefully spark enough interest in some collectors (and non-collectors
as well!) to further explore the daily heroism that is exemplified within these notes, and the stories they hold.
. Also, I am slowly adding comments on what to look for on notes from each province and municipality as I get the time...and information!
Most of the descriptions of the provinces and municipalities come from Neil Shafers book "Philippine Emergency and Guerrilla Currency of World War II", and are used with the permission of the author (thanks Neil!). So please, if you have any reference materials that aren't mentioned in the References section, I would be very appreciative of copies.
Thank You,
James A. Marcum
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