The BSP does not buy coins higher than face value

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) formally announced that it does not buy coins at prices higher than their face value.

The BSP is most likely referring to the hearsay that it is buying back 10 peso coins allegedly containing gold. One of our anonymous readers claimed that someone even bought his his or her 10 peso coin for 1000 pesos. In sulit.com.ph, the 10 peso coin is also being sold for 1000 pesos.

“The BSP is the sole issuer of currency in the Philippines. It mints and circulates coins in accordance with its mandate to supply the currency requirements of the banking system and sustain economic growth. It determines the different denominations of our money, both banknotes and coins, and the public should accept them at face value, no more, no less,” says the Bangko Sentral media release.

In the same announcement, the BSP also reiterated that defacing/mutilating and the smuggling of Philippine coins “are criminal acts punishable by law under Presidential Decree 247 and BSP Circular 98, Series of 1995 in relation to Section 2530 (f) of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended.”

Please report any information against these criminal acts to the BSP.