Demonetized Philippine Bank Notes in My Collection

Currency: One Peso.
This paper bill was used as the medium of exchange during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines between 1942-1945.It features the Rizal monument in the Luneta Park, now Rizal Park.
Year: 1943

Cross Stitch: Two Mustangs

I finally completed this design called Two Mustangs

* Design size: 15 x 11.25
* Cloth: Aida #10
* Thread: Anchor
* Number of colors used: 21

Philippine Coins: The English Series in My Collection

I was lucky enough to be able to include some old Philippine coins which was dubbed as the English Series. Is is called as such because these coins are in the English language . These coins were minted between 1903- 1945 when the Philippines was under the United States.

 Starting 1969 all Philippine coins are minted in Tagalog, the official Philippine language.

 * Currency: Twenty Centavos ( Php 0.20)

 * Obverse shows Lady Liberty striking an anvil with a hammer. In her background is the Mayon      *  Volcano. "Filipinas" and "Twenty Centavos" are also encrypted.

 * Reverse shows the arms of the US Territories the words "United States of America" and the year          "1918".

 * Year Minted : 1918

  * Composition: 75% silver

* Currency : Five Centavos (Php 0.05)

* Obverse shows a man sitting on an anvil, and the Mayon volcano , and the words " Five Centavos"      and " Filipinas"

* Reverse shows the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of the Philippines; the words "United States    of America" and the  mint year  "1944"

* Year: 1944

US Coins

The following are the US coins that somehow went to the assorted coins I've been keeping.

* Currency:  Five Cents

* Obverse shows the bust of Thomas Jefferson, the third US President; the United States motto, In      God      we Trust; the word "Liberty" and the  year 1960 

* Reverse shows the Montecillio which was the house of Jefferson; the words "E Pluribus Unum",    which is   Latin for ' One out of many"-  a phrase in the seal of the United States; the words, "United States of        America", and "five cents".

* Year: 1960

Arts and Crafts

Three months ago, I decided to take a break from my day job, and have a real long vacation. If I had enough savings and less financial responsibilities, I would've taken a sabbatical and  my wanderlust, but sadly, its not meant to be -- at least for now.

Meanwhile, I learned to do some crafts and create some beautiful things. Most of my inspiration are found on different websites about crafts. Pinterest in particular have a million ideas that would make you go  oohh and aaahh.

Here are some of the projects that I have completed so far.

Redesign A Shirt

Somebody gave me this blouse, but when I tried it out, I decided there was too much fabric in the front that its not flattering to wear. It makes me feel like I'm trying to hide a bulge in my belly. So I decided to remove the dangling fabric, used the same cloth to create small butterflies and sew it to the blouse.

       before                                                                    after

Philippine Commemorative Coins in My Collection

I used to work at a small scale lending business, where one of my duties was to manually count the money collected. Every now and then, there are coins that may look legitimate, but on closer inspection, were actually demonetized or of currencies of a different country. That started my interest to collect Philippine coins that are not in circulation anymore, or coins from other countries. They may not be in mint condition, but the idea of  having something being used in the past fascinates me. Not everyone will be able to hold such coins anymore, and I'm glad to have something tangible from history. The coins featured in this post are the Philippine those that were minted to commemorate a significant event as a nation. 

1. 100th Year Birth Anniversary of Elpidio Quirino, the sixth President of the Republic of the Philippines

    * Obverse shows the bust of the former president and the years 1890 ( his birth year) - 1990

    * Reverse shows the Seal of The of the President of the Philippines

    * Currency: Two Pesos ( Php 2.00)

    * Year Minted: 1992

    * Status: Demonetized

Cross Stitching

I first came across cross stitching when I was in high school in arts and crafts class. I don't know what happened to that particular  project, but when I graduated and started working, I tried my hand on this again as a hobby. 

Swan Lake was my first project. It took me about five years to be completed. Ok, so I did not work on it religiously. I  work on it during my free time, and there was about a year of not being able to do one single stitch. Eventually, I was able to finish it. After having it framed, I immediately looked for another project. And the cycle continues...

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