Change has come: Filipinos debate two sides of new coins

MANILA, Philippines - Change has come for Filipinos in the form of new coin designs released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). But the change has been hard to swallow for many Filipinos who feel the new designs were too similar with each other making them hard to tell apart.

When the BSP first announced the new design of the five-peso coin in December of 2017, the public quickly aired their concerns that it might be confused with the current one-peso coin.

The recent release of the new designs of ten-peso, one-peso, 25-centavo, and one-centavo coins prompted Filipinos to debate on the two sides of the new coin designs.

Designers of the BSP new generation coins are so stupid. It's gonna be harder to count money when all of them are silver, the only difference being the size. Hope those who designed them will lose money thinking they gave the right amount.

— Chris Lasa (@cml888) March 27, 2018

BSP isn’t recalling the old coins while unloading tons of new generation coins. Ha! I see what you did there Ph gov. You’re trying to preoccupy us with sorting our coins in the hopes that we forget the 6.4B shabu, the EJKs, the West Philippine Sea & China. Try harder!

Charengue pic.twitter.com/J3boEaoZvY

— Miss Maggie (@MiaMagdalena) March 27, 2018

Josef Mari Olaybal, a University of the Philippines, Diliman, graduate of Fine Arts major in Visual Communication, proposed alternative coin designs that are easy to tell apart from each other.

Television comedienne Ethel Booba poked fun at the new coins saying that the new coins might even be mistaken for arcade tokens.

FYI nasubukan na ang new P5 coin. Madami na ang nagreklamo na mali ang bayad/sukli dahil napagkamalan itong P1 dahil sa color. Buti nga di napagkamalang token sa World Of Fun or Quantum. Charot! https://t.co/d8vOlyAoYz

— Ethel Booba (@IamEthylGabison) March 27, 2018

Dr. Paolo Acosta, an ER resident physician and coin collector, posted on Facebook a lengthy defence of the BSP’s redesign for multiple reasons including security from counterfeiters.

"The BSP is mandated to safeguard the integrity of our currency against possible counterfeiters. The longer one country maintains the same set of currencies, the easier it gets to be copied and perfected by counterfeiters. To prevent such from happening, mints redesign currency features ranging from mere alterations up to a total revamp of the currency," he said.

Acost also detailed the importance and cost of the metal used to mint coins.

"Durability comes into mind. There are other metals that can be (tenchnically) used to mint our coins. But most cheap metals are friable and cannot withstand the daily abuse a coin faces on its day to day venture. The BSP addresses this issue by using a denser metal, this case, Steel and coats its with nickel to protect it from rusting," he said.

Acosta answered complaints of the public about the similar designs of the coins by saying BSP employs different tactile cues.

"The most common tactile feature are the differences in size. I do not know why people immediately assumed that the upcoming coins are of the same size. Aside from the 1 and 5 centavo coins, bigger denominations will have differences in diameter to help differentiate it from one another," he said.

"Second and personally the best, the EDGES were designed to have similar characteristics of Braille which is utilized by running your nail along the edges and from there, determine the denomination," Acosta added.

Following the many complaints from Filipinos, BSP has appealed to the public to give the coins a chance.

READ: BSP starts release of new coin series

They said they would hold “extensive public information campaigns” to provide additional information regarding the new coins.

“It is hoped that as the coins are released into circulation, the public would be more accustomed to their use and become familiar with their distinct elements which proudly showcase Filipino heroes and native flora,” BSP said in a statement.