100 Peso UP Centennial Notes

To commemorate the Centennial of the University of the Philippines (UP), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has issued 100-piso banknotes overprinted with the image of the UP Oblation. The Oblation is the iconic symbol of UP, represented by a man with arms wide-stretched and face facing up, symbolizing selfless offering of one's self to his country.

The UP Oblation overprinted on the watermark space to the right of President Manuel Acuña Roxas' portrait, symbolizes 100 years of "academic excellence, leadership and service to the nation" by "one of the most influential institutions" in the Philippines that is UP.


The overprint

The overprint is actually the silhouette of the Oblation surrounded by two concentric circles containing the words "University of the Philippines Centennial", and the years 1908 and 2008. The Oblation silhouette seems to have been ripped off from the design of the 100-peso UP silver proof coin issued in 1983 for UP's Diamond Jubilee.

The first time we learned about the planned overprinting of the Oblation, we made a prediction of how the overprint would look like. While the actual overprint is satisfactory, I was personally hoping they would just use the more presentable UP Centennial logo.

The folder that comes with a collectible series of the banknotes actually says "100-piso banknotes with the overprint of the UP Centennial 2008 logo". The actual overprint is definitely not the UP Centennial logo. Overprints, however, usually do not incorporate more than one level of black so the overprint above would have been more expensive to produce, hence the simplified design.


Buy these bills uncut, now!

The first batch of these overprinted banknotes are available for sale as a limited edition collector's item at the UP Administration Building (Quezon Hall) in UP Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. Four uncut bills come with a protective folder and envelope for only P1,000 each.



Based on data gathered, only 10,000 sets of these 100 peso centennial notes will be issued so you better place your order now. Download the order form here.

If you need assistance in ordering these centennial notes, leave a comment below or in the chatbox on the right side of the page. Please forward this post to your friends who might also be interested.