As the 1978 proof set photos are not available in #40 ( my free Photobucket allowance was full ), they may be seen here :-


The set featured two coins with special commemorative designs honouring the 100th anniversary of the birth of Manuel Quezon, in Baler ( Aurora province, Luzon )..


Quezon served as the second president of the country, after Aguinaldo, whom he had supported in the struggle for independence against the United States. He was first president of the Philippine Commonwealth, from 1935 - 1944. The Commonwealth official seal is shown on the silver 50 peso coin. After Japan invaded and occupied the country in 1942, he formed a government in exile in the United States. He died from tuberculosis in New York, before full Philippine independence was established in 1946.



The silver 25 pesos coin features the Quezon Memorial Circle, a national park and shrine in Quezon City, which was capital of the Philippines between 1948 - 1976. Its main feature is a mausoleum containing the remains of Quezon and his wife. The monument, completed in 1978, consists of three vertical pylons ( representing Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao ), 66m tall ( representing Quezon’s age when he died ), surrounded by three mourning angels holding sampaguita..













Things were indeed very different ~40 years ago when I first visited the Philippines.


In the UK, Prime Minister was James Callaghan ; David Owen at 38 was the youngest post-WWII Foreign Secretary ; Red Rum won the Grand National for the third time ; the M5 Motorway was completed ; it was the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth’s reign ; Freddie Laker launched his budget Skytrain airline ; colour TV licences exceeded black and white licences for the first time ; inflation was around 16%.


The Philippines had been under Martial Law since September 1972. In 1973 Marcos ordered public execution of a drug trafficker by firing squad. In 1975 Imelda Marcos became Governor of Metro Manila. In 1977 Benigno " Ninoy " Aquino was sentenced to death ( later commuted by Marcos ). In 1978 U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale urged Marcos to " promote liberty and democracy ".


As a visiting young doctor, I saw high standards in the best hospitals ( but couldn’t afford to work in the country on the available salary ) ; a vibrant nightlife in Manila ; more security and less traffic than now. Exchange rates were around P8 for U.S.$ 1, and £1 was worth U.S. $2.


More than one test for Marcos, indeed, by 1978 and beyond …