the
fall of silver. A difficulty to be confronted was the impossibility
of ascertaining even the approximate total amount of silver current
in the Islands. Opinions varied from P30,000,000 upwards. [297]
Pending the solution of the money problem, ineffectual attempts were
made to fix the relative values by the publication of an official
ratio between gold dollar and silver peso once a quarter; but as
it never agreed with the commercial quotation many days running,
the announcement of the official ratio was altered to once in ten
days. Seeing that ten days or more elapsed before the current ratio
could be communicated to certain remote points, the complications in
the official accounts were most embarrassing. Congress Act of July
1, 1902, authorized the coinage of subsidiary silver, but did not
determine the unit of value or provide for the issue of either coin or
paper money to take the place of the Mexican and Spanish-Philippine
pesos in circulation, so that it was quite inoperative. Finally,
Congress Act of March 2, 1903, provided that the new standard should
be a peso equal in value to half a United States gold dollar. The
maximum amount authorized to be coined was 75,000,000 silver pesos,
each containing 416 grains of silver, nine-tenths fine. The peso was
to be legal tender for all debts, public and private, in the Islands,
and was to be issued when the Insular Government should have 500,000
pesos ready for circulation. The peso is officially alluded to as
"Philippine currency," whilst the popular term, "Conant," derives
its name from a gentleman, Mr. Charles Conant, in whose report, dated
November 25, 1901, this coin was suggested. He visited the Islands,
immortalized his name, and modestly retired.

The "Philippine currency," or "peso Conant," is guaranteed by the
United States Treasury to be equal to 50 cents of a gold dollar. The
six subsidiary coins are 50, 20, and 10 cents silver, 5 cents nickel,
and 1 and 1/2 cent bronze, equivalent to a sterling value of one
shilling to one farthing. This new coinage, designed by a Filipino, was
issued to the public at the end of July, 1903. The inaugurating issue
consisted of 17,881,650 silver pesos, in pesos and subsidiary coins,
to be supplemented thereafter by the re-coinage of the Mexican and
Philippine pesos as they found their way into the Treasury. For public
convenience, silver certificates, or Treasury Notes, were issued,
exchangeable for "Conant" silver pesos, t