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Originally Posted by Dimasalang
Sorry to bring this post up from the dead, but I think I can add some useful info to this thread for possible future reference.
The first portion of the engraving I would definitely say looks to say " Jral".
The Katipunan and the 1st Republic of the Philippines used Spanish titles. "General" in Spanish can be spelled "Heneral" or "Jeneral". The Abbreviation for Jeneral in Spanish is "Jral". It can also be Hral or Gral, but that looks like a "J" engraving to me. 
"G", "H", and "J" are typically pronounced the same way in Spanish...so you can use them interchangeably. |
No, you can't. It's called proper spelling.
Now, the "Spanish" spoken in the Philippines at the time was in fact a local version, which could include such variation of spelling, but it would only reinforce the indigenous character of the piece.
I just wanted to clarify the possibilities for the flexibility, or lack thereof, of the spelling of the Spanish language in a particular time framework.
Said this, the first letter COULD also be a capital "G", and the
" ~" symbol above the word usally indicates some kind of contraction. So, "General" is a very very good candidate.