Philippine one-peso coin

1-peso coin issued under Spanish administration, 1864

Prior to 1861 Spanish dollars (pesos) or eight-real coins issued by Spain and Spanish America were generally accepted in the Philippines. In 1861 a gold 1-peso coin specifically for the Philippines was issued weighing 1.69 grams of 0.875 fine gold. In 1897 a silver 1-peso coin specifically for the Philippines was issued weighing 25.0 grams of 0.9 fine silver.

1-peso coin issued under US administration, 1907

In 1903 the 1-peso coin equivalent to half a U.S. dollar was minted for the Philippines, weighing 26.96 grams of 0.9 fine silver. Its specifications were reduced from 1907 to 1912 to 20.0 grams of 0.8 fine silver. This was minted in quantity and widely kept in Philippine banks until the start of the Second World War when several million pesos were thrown off Corregidor rather than be surrendered to the Imperial Japanese.

From 1972 to 1974, the one peso was reintroduced, making it the largest denomination of the series. The nickel-brass coin bears the denomination and a profile of José Rizal, a writer and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain, faced to the left on the obverse, while the year of minting, the inscription 'Republika ng Pilipinas' and its official coat of arms, are all on the reverse.

From 1975 to 1982, a new one peso coin was issued. The obverse now bears the inscription 'Republika ng Pilipinas' and a portrait of Rizal now faced to the right. The year of minting, the inscription 'Ang Bagong Lipunan' and the official coat of arms of the Philippines, are all on the reverse.

From 1983 to 1991 and 1991 to 1994, two new one peso coins were issued, the latter of a smaller size concurrent to the last four years of the series. The obverse now features the year of minting and a profile of Rizal faced on the right on the obverse. An image of Anoa mindorensis, or, ambiguously, tamaraw, an animal native to the Philippines, and the denomination, are all on the reverse. Although the 1 peso coin became smaller in 1991 upon the release of Improved Flora and Fauna Series, its commemorative coin "400 Taon ng Antipolo, Rizal" (transl. 400 Years of Antipolo, Rizal) uses the original 1983 larger size and copper-nickel composition.

Issued from 1995 to 2003 in copper-nickel and from 2003 to 2017 in nickel-plated steel, the coin features an enlarged denomination on the obverse, while the inscription 'Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' and its official seal are all on the reverse.

Since August 2006, it has been known that the one-peso coin of this series has the same size as the 1 dirham coin of the United Arab Emirates.[1] This has led to the one-peso coins being used for vending machine fraud in the United Arab Emirates.

Issued in 2018, the new one peso coin features a portrait of José Rizal, denomination and year of issue on the obverse. The reverse design features the Waling-waling orchid along with the logo of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.