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by Timothy Benford

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[This article about dumping $16 million into Manila Bay during World War II, was previously published in Coin World and Canadian Coin News, under different headlines. The writer is the author of four books on World War II.]

$16-MILLION IN SILVER COINS WAS DUMPED
IN MANILA BAY TO KEEP IT FROM JAPANESE

Prior to being ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to depart from Corregidor by PT-Boat in March, 1942, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur conferred with President Manuel Quezon about what should be done to prevent millions of dollars worth of currency, coin and bullion from falling into the hands of the advancing Japanese.

The two men held this momentous discussion while walking amidst the warren of caves beneath the fortress. Overhead Japanese bombers were mercilessly pounding the surface.

That the island fortress of Corregidor would fall, as had the rest of the Philippines, was a forgone conclusion. How long it could holdout was another matter.

The paper currency on Corregidor, Philippine and U.S., would have to be burned, there was no question about that. The Japanese had captured almost $20.5-million in currency when they occupied the Treasury Building in Manila in January.

MacArthur estimated Corregidor's caves would hold 43,000 people, mostly soldiers plus Quezon, government officials and civilians. In fact, there were more than twice that number present. Before he left, MacArthur assured Quezon all the gold bullion would have already been spirited out via submarine. But that never happened.

Meanwhile, there was some 16,486,490 U.S. silver dollar size Peso coins alone. A submarine run would be too risky. And taking up that much space, let alone the added weight for the PT-Boat MacArthur, his family, and a select handful of staffers would be leaving on, was out of the question.

In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, administration of the Philippines passed to the United States. The U.S. congress passed legislation in 1902 recognizing the Peso as the standard unit of currency and providing for minor issues of 50; 20; 10; 5; 1; and half-centavo coins.

Sometimes, when the Japanese bombing seemed lighter or in the rare instances when it actually stopped briefly, MacArthur would venture from the labyrinth below the surface and survey the gnarled and smashed ruins of the fortress above.

He was loath to wear a helmet, preferring instead his carefully crumpled field marshall's cap. Replete with corncob pipe and swagger stick, the 62-year-old general would ignore the pleas of his subordinates and gingerly climb the rubble and gaze toward Manila on the mainland. More than once during these sojourns he found himself exposed to returning Japanese aircraft.

The several million silver peso coins that presented a quandary to MacArthur and Quezon included many that are known as Type 1' .900 fineness strikes of both the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints from 1903-4-5-6. There were also an unspecified number of commemorative silver coin issues, which are commonly called Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT).

The Type II silver Pesos were all San Francisco minted coins of .800 fineness dated between 1907-12. The Philadelphia Mint did strike two proof pieces dated 1907 and 500 1908 dated Peso pieces, but neither of these rare issues were believed to be among the coins on Corregidor in 1942. In the interest of accuracy, production of Philippine coins at the Philadelphia Mint took place inclusively from 1903-1908 and at San Francisco from 1903-19. The Manila Mint was authorized by legislation in 1903 but did not produce coins until 1920, at which time San Francisco minting ceased.

Sometime between 12 March 1942 when MacArthur left Corregidor and 6 May when 16,000 American and Filipino troops surrendered Corregidor, the thousands of pounds of silver Pesos and minor coins were sent to the depths of Manila Bay.

Packed in heavy wooden boxes and transported by boats and barges, the silver treasure was dumped overboard near the mouth of Manila Bay in a wide area approximately two-and-a-half miles north of the island. The location, at the junction where the China Sea and the bay convene, is slightly more than 100 feet deep. Some accounts, never confirmed by government sources, and despite MacArthur's assurances to Quezon, say that a goodly number of gold bullion bars were also part of what went overboard. The gold was reportedly overlooked or left behind when the bulk of the gold was taken out by submarine.

The Japanese heard about the effort and during the years they occupied the Philippines are said to have recovered roughly 4-million coins using their own divers and prisoners of war. Nothing was ever said about them finding any gold bullion.

After the Philippines were liberated in 1945 the site became popular with numerous freelance treasure hunters and divers who risked stiff jail terms if caught trying to salvage the remainder.

Rumors abound that one group of U.S. Navy veterans conducted a well-organized operation in 1947 and salvaged upwards of 300,000 silver coins and 57 gold bars. The group was said to have been recruited from the then U.S. Naval Base in Bayonne, the primary location where the Navy trained its hard hat deep-sea divers. However, though the treasure hunters survived, the ship and its booty were lost in a storm on the return voyage home.

Over the years both the Philippine government and U.S. Navy engaged in organized salvage operations and these efforts accounted for another 8-million coins.

If all the figures mentioned in this story are accurate there should still be more than 3.5-million silver Pesos scattered around the mouth of Manila Bay.
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Learn more about this author, Timothy Benford.

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