Numistify guide

Which Philippine Coins Are Silver? Silver Content by Year

Philippine silver spans three eras — Spanish, American and Commonwealth — and the fineness changed with each. Here is every silver coin by date, with its fineness and silver content.

Updated October 2026 · tables generated from Numistify’s coin templates

The short answer

Spanish-era centavos are .900 (1864–1868) or .835 (1880–1885), and the 1897 peso, .900, is the only Spanish silver peso struck for the islands. The US-era coins began at .900 (1903–1906) and were reduced in 1907: the peso to .800 and the 10, 20 and 50 centavos to .750. Commonwealth coins kept .750 for the centavos, and everyday silver ended with the centavos of 1944–1945. Later silver coins are commemoratives: the 1947 MacArthur 50 centavos and the pesos of 1961–1967. From 1958 the circulating coins were brass and nickel-brass.

Philippine silver coins by year

Not every coin is listed. This table is for reference: it covers the silver coins in Numistify’s catalogue and may not include every coin, date, variety or special issue. If your coin is not here, look it up in a world coin catalogue such as Numista or the Standard Catalog of World Coins, or ask your local coin shop.

Reading the table

Fineness is the share of silver in the coin: .900 means 90% silver. Silver (troy oz) is the pure silver it contains, the figure that sets its metal value — multiply it by the day’s silver price. KM is the coin’s number in the Standard Catalog of World Coins, the quickest way to look it up. Our guide to silver and gold melt value shows the calculation.

Telling them apart

1906 and 1907. A US-era peso of 1903–1906 is .900, 26.96 g; from 1907 it is .800, 20 g. The 1906-S peso is the great rarity of the series.

The 1936 pesos. Two Commonwealth pesos of 1936, with Roosevelt and Quezon or Murphy and Quezon, are .900 silver; 10,000 of each were struck.

The commemorative pesos. The 1961 Rizal, 1963 Bonifacio, 1964 Mabini and 1967 Bataan pesos are .900 silver, 26 g. The 1967 peso was the last coin of the peso-centavo era.

What they are worth

Silver content sets a floor, not the value. A scarce date, a rare mint or a coin in fine condition can be worth far more than its metal, so check before selling any coin for its silver: look it up in a world coin catalogue such as the Standard Catalog of World Coins or the NGC World Coin Price Guide, compare auction records and eBay sold listings for the same coin in the same condition, and ask your local coin shop. Our guide to what your coin is worth walks through each step, and are old foreign coins worth anything? covers sorting a mixed lot.

Questions people ask

Are old Philippine coins silver?

Many are. Spanish-era centavos are .900 or .835, US-era coins of 1903–1906 are .900, and from 1907 the peso is .800 and the centavos .750. Everyday silver ended in 1945; from 1958 circulating coins were brass and nickel-brass.

Is the Philippine 1 peso silver?

The pesos of 1897 and 1903–1906 are .900, those of 1907–1912 are .800, and the 1936 and 1961–1967 commemorative pesos are .900 silver.

How much silver is in a Philippine 1907 peso?

The .800 peso of 1907–1912 weighs 20 g and contains about 0.51 troy ounces of silver.

Are Philippine centavos silver?

The 10, 20 and 50 centavos of 1903–1906 are .900 silver, and those from 1907 to 1945 are .750. The 1947 MacArthur 50 centavos is .750 too. Centavos from 1958 are base metal.

Related guides

Silver and gold melt value — turning silver weight into a metal value.

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