New Generation Currency coins released in Pangasinan
WATCH out for the New Generation Currency (NGC) coin series.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) branch office in Dagupan City that services all banks in Pangasinan has started releasing the new coins here.
Ma. Lourdes Manaois, in-charge of BSP Dagupan’s Economic and Financial Learning Center, said their branch office has initially started the release of ₱5 and ₱10 coin denominations but gradually all denominations will be out soon.
She said on March 26, BSP main office announced the release of NGC coins and the following day in Metro Manila with 139.5 million pieces.
She said BSP is aware of negative reaction from netizens on social media particularly the size of the ₱5 coin that could easily be mistaken for a ₱1 coin.
But BSP insists the difference can easily be discerned visually and tactile feel by touching the coins.
In Pangasinan, BSP Dagupan branch will launch an information campaign in every municipality by inviting all barangay captains and treasurers on May 14 to familiarize them with the features of the NGC.
Meanwhile, the info campaign is ongoing in supermarkets and malls.
Manaois clarified that there is no announcement about retiring the old coins so they can still be used together with the new NGC coins.
The NGC is nickel-plated steel. There are three reasons for this feature: 1) to improve its security features and avoid counterfeiting, 2) to discourage illegal extraction of valuable metals in coins, like the old ₱10 coin with brass in the middle that is extracted by illegal hoarders, and 3) to ensure the NGC coins are more resistant against rust for longer shelf life.
Manaois said there is no 10-centavo denomination in NGC coins.
The NGC series features the endemic flora of the Philippines: the kapa–kapa, tayabak, waling-waling, katomon, kapal–kapal, baging and mangkono whose varying characteristics of beauty, toughness, versatility and adaptability run parallel to Filipinos’ resilience and grace under pressure, said in a BSP pamphlet.
The NGC coin series complements the endemic fauna that highlights the NGC banknote series, it added. (Eva Visperas)
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