My latest Top Pop acquisition is a USA/Philippines Half Centavo in PR66RB (Combined NGC/PCGS Population 4/0).

The 1904 Proof Half Centavo had a mintage of 1,355. Despite its relatively high mintage compared to other years in this series proof 1904 Half Centavos in this grade are much rarer than the mintage figures would suggest. PCGS Coin Facts lists the "Relative Rarity by Type" for 1904 Half Centavos in PR65RB or above as the rarest in the series and assigns it a grade rarity of R-8.5. Of the five years that proof Half Centavos were produced 1904 is the only year that no specimens have been graded PF67 by any of the major grading services. Not only is PF66 the Top Grade for this year but the total number of available specimens in this grade is extremely small. The Combined PCGS/NGC Population for 1904 Half Centavos in PF66 is only 3 PF66BN, 4 PF66RB, and 3 PF66RD.

Top Pop USA/Philippine coins are normally only seen at major highly publicized auctions where bidding can be very competition and often exceeds book value. Imagine my surprise when I found this little Gem in a Teletrade internet auction (Auction 3347 - Sunday, September 16, 2012 - Lot 2584) and won it for the "Opening Bid" of $250.00 ($287.50 with buyer's premium). The 2012 Allen Catalog of "U.S./Philippine Coins" lists the price for a 1904 Half Centavo in PF65 as $225.00. Allen suggests that as a rule of thumb a proof 66 specimen should be priced at from 60% to 90% higher than the listed PF-65 price. Based upon that standard the FMV for a 1904 PR66 Half Centavo would be between $360.00 and $427.50.

I'm really happy to add this little Gem to my Half Centavo Registry Set. http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=77008&Ranking=all

Attached is the Teletrade image of the reverse of my 1904 Half Centavo PR66RB.

For photo of the obverse side of this specimen click here: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=12149

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