Leprosy is a communicable bacterial disease characterized by skin lesions and numbness. In 1633, it is said that a Japanese Emperor sent a ship loaded with lepers to the Spanish missionaries based in the Philippines. He also instructed the ship’s captain to drown the lepers in case no one would receive them. Fortunately, the missionaries kindly welcomed the patients with open arms and even established the San Lazaro Hospital to take care of them. At that time, people had very little knowledge about the disease so it didn’t take long before leprosy started to afflict the Filipino populace.
In 1906, Dr. Heiser, Director of Health for the Philippines, opened a leper colony in Culion, an island located north of Palawan. Lest they might continue spreading the disease, a unique monetary system separate from the rest of the country was established. These leper coins were only allowed within the colony and those who would leave the place had to convert the leper money into “government money.”
Leper money was strictly regulated, and those who violated the law would pay a fine, stay in the prison for up to 1 month, or both. The first few issues of the leper coins were made from aluminum, but it was later replaced by copper-nickel as those made from aluminum were easily damaged by chemicals used to disinfect the coins.
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