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Barter rings (Tagalog:panika) are ring-shaped gold ingots used as currency in thePhilippines until the 16th century. These barter rings are bigger than a doughnut in size and are made of nearly pure gold.
The early Filipinos tradedpiloncitos along with barter rings.[1]
Barter rings varies in thickness with a dual purpose: round hollow circlets of gold used as earrings or anklets bykadatuan and high-ranking nobility, aside for money.[2] They are also very similar to the first coins invented in theKingdom of Lydia in present-dayTurkey. Barter rings were circulated in the Philippines up to the 16th century.[3] As the discovery of gold deposits were seen by the locals, the precious metal was mined and worked in the Philippines, evidenced by manySpanish accounts like one in 1586 that stated:
“The people of this island (Luzon) are very skillful in their handling of gold. They weigh it with the greatest skill and delicacy that have ever been seen. The first thing they teach their children is the knowledge of gold and the weights with which they weigh it, for there is no other money among them.”[4]
| Preceded by | Philippine currency c.10th −16th century | Succeeded by |
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