TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JUAN CARLO DE VELA
FOR businessman and collector Alexander Ang Sy, the past is not something that exists only in history books. It can be held in the palm of a hand, displayed on a shelf, or preserved inside an old bottle.
Sy is an avid collector of old coins, bottles, medals, photographs, religious memorabilia and other artifacts of Cebu’s history. What began as a simple desire to reconnect with childhood memories eventually grew into a passion for preserving fragments of the Philippines’ past.
He started collecting old coins in 2017, initially looking for currency he remembered using as a child during the 1980s and 1990s. Those familiar pieces became a doorway to a deeper interest in Philippine numismatic history.
Beyond coins
His collection eventually expanded to include Spanish- and American-era Philippine coins, offering a glimpse into eras long before his childhood. However, coins are only part of Sy’s collection. Among the old bottles he has acquired is a Halili beer bottle, a rare piece associated with the country’s brewing history during the 1950s. For collectors, such objects are more than discarded containers, as their labels, designs and markings provide clues about businesses, products and everyday life from decades ago.
Sy also maintains a collection of Cebu Carnival medals and photographs, offering a window into one of the city’s most colorful pre-World War II traditions. The Cebu Carnival was a major public celebration that brought together entertainment, commerce and community life, featuring agricultural exhibits, carnival rides, circuses, parades, vaudeville shows, military displays, masquerade balls and Carnival Queens. Initially staged at Fuente Osmeña before expanding to Plaza Independencia, Magallanes St. and Cebu’s piers, these festivities live on through Sy’s collection, preserving visual reminders of an era many today know only through stories.