Item: i114618
 
Authentic Coin of:

Philippines
Emilio Aguinaldo
1975 Proof Silver 25 Piso 38mm (24.72 grams) 0.500 Silver (0.7475 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 211, Schön# 50
ANG BAGONG LIPUNAN REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS *25  PISO*, Coat-of-Arms.
REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS EMILIO AGUINALDO *1975*,  Head of Emilio Aguinaldo 1/2 right.

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Emilio  Aguinaldo y Famy  (March 22, 1869 –  February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary,  statesman, and military leader who is officially  recognized as the first and the youngest  president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and the  first president of a constitutional republic in  Asia. He led Philippine forces first against  Spain in the Philippine Revolution (1896–1898),  then in the Spanish–American War (1898), and  finally against the United States during the  Philippine–American War (1899–1901).

Aguinaldo remains a controversial figure in Filipino history. Though he has  been recommended as a national hero of the Philippines, many have criticized him  for his involvement in the deaths of revolutionary leader Andrés Bonifacio and  general Antonio Luna, as well as his sympathies for the Japanese Empire during  their occupation of the Philippines in World War II.

On May 28, 1898, Aguinaldo gathered a force of about 18,000 troops and fought  against a small garrison of Spanish troops in Alapan, Imus, Cavite. The battle  lasted from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. After the victory at Alapan, Aguinaldo  unfurled the Philippine flag for the first time and hoisted it at the Teatro  Caviteño in Cavite Nuevo (present-day Cavite City) in front of Filipino  revolutionaries and more than 300 captured Spanish troops. A group of American  sailors of the US Asiatic Squadron also witnessed the unfurling. Flag Day is  celebrated every May 28 to honor the battle.

On June 12, Aguinaldo promulgated the Philippine Declaration of Independence  from Spain in his own mansion house in Cavite El Viejo, believing that  declaration would inspire the Filipino people to eagerly rise against the  Spaniards. On June 18, he issued a decree formally establishing his dictatorial  government in which he also provided the organization of the local government  and the establishment and the composition of the Revolutionary Congress.

On June 23, Aguinaldo issued a decree replacing his dictatorial government  with a revolutionary government with himself as president upon the  recommendation of his adviser Apolinario Mabini. The decree defined the  organization of the central government and the establishment and the election of  delegates to the Revolutionary Congress and to prepare the shift from a  revolutionary government to a republic.

By May 1898, Filipino troops had cleared Cavite of Spanish forces. In late  June 1898, Aguinaldo, with the help of American allies, who were now landing in  Cavite, was now preparing to drive the Spaniards out of Manila. The first  contingent of American troops arrived in Cavite on June 30, the second under  General Francis V. Greene on July 17, and the third under General Arthur  MacArthur Jr on July 30. By then, 12,000 US troops had landed in the  Philippines.

Aguinaldo had presented surrender terms to Spanish Governor-General of the  Philippines Basilio Augustín, who refused them initially since he believed that  more Spanish troops would be sent to lift the siege. As the combined forces of  Filipinos and Americans were closing in, Augustín realized that his position was  hopeless, secretly continued to negotiate with Aguinaldo, and even offered  ₱1 million, but Aguinaldo refused. When the Spanish Cortes learned of Augustín’s  attempt to negotiate the surrender of his army to Filipinos under Aguinaldo, it  was furious and relieved Augustín of his duties effective July 24. He was  replaced by Fermin Jáudenes. On June 16, warships departed Spain to lift the  siege, but they altered course for Cuba where a Spanish fleet was imperiled by  the US Navy.

The Philippines,  officially known as the Republic of the  Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas),  is a sovereign island  country in Southeast Asia situated in  the western Pacific  Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are  categorized broadly under  three main geographical divisions from north  to south: Luzon , Visayas  , and Mindanao . The capital city of the  Philippines  is Manila and the most  populous city is Quezon City , both part of Metro Manila .

  The  Philippines’ location on the Pacific Ring of  Fire and close to the equator makes the  Philippines prone to  earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant  natural  resources and some of the world’s greatest biodiversity . The Philippines has an area of  approximately  300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), and a population of  more  than 100 million with faster growth than any other east Asian country. It   is the seventh-most populated country in Asia  and the 12th most populated country in the  world. An  additional 12 million Filipinos live  overseas , comprising one of the world’s  largest diasporas . Multiple ethnicities and  cultures are found throughout  the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago’s  earliest inhabitants.  They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples . Exchanges with Chinese, Malay , Indian , and Islamic states occurred. Then, various nations  were established under the rule of Datus , Rajahs , Sultans Lakans..

The arrival of Ferdinand  Magellan Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of  Hispanic  colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de  Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas  Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain  . With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi  from Mexico City, in  1565, the first Hispanic settlement in the  archipelago was established. The  Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This  resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant  religion. During this  time, Manila became the western hub of the   trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons .

As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, there followed in quick succession   the Philippine Revolution , which spawned the   short-lived First Philippine Republic ,  followed by the  bloody Philippine–American War  of conquest by US  military force. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation , the United States  retained sovereignty over the  islands until after World War II , when the Philippines was  recognized as an  independent nation. Since then, the Philippines has often had a   tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a   dictatorship by a non-violent revolution .

The nation’s large population and economic potential  have led it to be classified  as a middle power  . It is a founding member of the United Nations  , World Trade Organization , Association of Southeast Asian Nations , the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and  the East Asia Summit . It also hosts the  headquarters of the Asian Development Bank . The Philippines is  considered to be an emerging market and a newly industrialized  country , which has an  economy transitioning from being one  based on agriculture to one based more on  services and manufacturing.