The Philippine one centavo coin (1ยข) is the smallest-denomination coin of the Philippine peso. It has been issued since 1903 during American rule. It became the smallest unit of currency following the removal of the half-centavo in 1908. Its current size and colour is similar to the five centavo coin, although that one has a hole in the middle.
No coins worth one hundredth of a peso were issued during the Spanish rule over the Philippines, as the 10 centimo was the smallest unit of currency of the Philippine peso fuerte (1861-1898).
The first one-centavo coin was issued under American rule in 1903. It featured an Islander near a volcano on the obverse with 'One Centavo' written on the top and 'Filipinas' on the bottom. The reverse featured the American coat of arms with the inscription 'United States of America' on the top and the date on the bottom. This coin was minted until 1936, the next year it featured a change on the reverse with a Filipino coat of arms. This second coin was minted until 1944.
English Series; In 1958, minting of the centavo resumed with another coat of arms on the reverse. The inscription around the coat of arms was changed to 'Central Bank of the Philippines'.
Pilipino Series; In 1967 the coin featured the Tagalog language for the first time and its composition changed to a silver-colour. Its obverse featured Lapu-Lapu in profile to the left, a native ruler of Mactan Island near Cebu who fought against Spanish colonisation. The inscription around the shield read 'Republika ng Pilipinas'.
Ang Bagong Lipunan Series; A second silver-coloured coin featuring Lapu-Lapu was minted from 1975 to 1982 and was square. The name of the Republic was moved to the obverse, and Lapu-Lapu now faced the right. On the reverse read the inscription 'Ang Bagong Lipunan'. The issues from 1979 to 1982 featured a mintmark underneath the 1 centavo.
Flora and Fauna Series; From 1983 to 1993 the coin was round, Lapu-Lapu again faced the left in profile, and the denomination was moved to the reverse with the date on the front.
BSP Coin Series; The current version has been minted since 1995 and is copper-coloured. It features no human at all. The reverse has the logo of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The name of the republic, the date and denomination are all on the obverse.
Of the current design of one-centavo coins, only 18 million have been minted. In comparison to the projected population of 94 million the Philippines in 2010, there are over four people to each one-centavo coin.
