Today's Journal entry is the third installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The second of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the One Centavo of 1903 - 1936.

The 1903 -- 1936 One Centavo encompasses the longest date range of any slot in the USA-Philippines Type Set. The coins in this slot include business strikes in 29 dates, five dates with proof issues, and 15 recognized die varieties.

The One Centavo was designed by Filipino artist Melicio Figueroa and engraved by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber. The obverse design shows a young Filipino male seated next to an anvil holding a hammer in his right hand, his left arm raised, and in the background to his left is a billowing volcano. The obverse carries the inscriptions "One Centavo" and "Filipinas" (Spanish for Philippines). The reverse design depicts an eagle with spread wings perched atop an American shield. The reverse carries the inscription "United States of America" and the date.

The One Centavo was struck in Bronze (95% copper, 5% zinc and tin). It had a weigh of 80 Grains and a diameter of 24mm.

Business strikes of the One Centavo were struck at the Philadelphia Mint from 1903 through 1905.

A limited number of Proof One Centavo coins were produced at the Philadelphia Mint from 1903 through 1906 and again in 1908. The mintage figures for the proof One Centavo is as follows: 1903 (2,558), 1904 (1,355), 1905 (471), 1906 (500), and 1908 (500). The 1906 and 1908 One Centavo are PROOF ONLY ISSUES.

The business and proof coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint have no mint mark.

In 1908 production of One Centavo business strikes shifted to the San Francisco Mint which produced One Centavo coins every year from 1908 through 1920. The coins produced at the San Francisco Mint have an "S" Mint Mark on the reverse to the left of the date.

1920 was a transitional year where One Centavos were produced at both the San Francisco and Manila mints. During the first half of the year 1920-S One Centavos were struck at the San Francisco Mint. In July 1920 the newly opened United States Manila Branch Mint took over One Centavo production.

The Manila Mint did not use a mint-mark on its One Centavo coinage of 1920, 1921, and 1922. No One Centavos were struck anywhere during 1923 or 1924. One Centavo production resumed at the Manila Mint in 1925. The Manila Mint struck One Centavo coins every year from 1925 through 1934 and again in 1936. The 1925 through 1936 One Centavo has an "M" Mint Mark on the reverse to the left of the date.

Business strikes of the 1903 through 1936 One Centavo often have strike issues. According to the classical reference book "United States Territorial Coinage For The Philippine Islands" by Neil Shafer: "On obverses the figure's right hand is almost always found flatly struck. Reverses often show flattening of the eagle's breast, especially in the later years. Light strikes are commonly seen throughout the Manila Mint issues (esp. 1920), but only occasionally in strikes of San Francisco. The left part of the reverse shield is very susceptible to flat striking; this includes some stars on the left side as well. The mint-mark M during the years 1929-1936 often appears as an almost indistinguishable letter." (Shafer, 1961, p.37)

The One Centavo was really the workhorse of the Philippine economy. Between 1903 and 1936 U.S. Mints produced 195.9 Million One Centavo coins. That was more than the total combined production of Half Centavo (17.7 million), Five Centavos (39.6 million), Ten Centavos (49.3 million), Twenty Centavos (34.5 million), and Fifty Centavos (18.4 million).

Despite the huge number of One Centavo business strikes assembling a complete collection in the higher grades can be quite challenging.

Many 1903 through 1936 One Centavos were melted down during World War ll and the surviving specimens are often well circulated or suffering from environmental damage.

The climate in the Philippines was not conducive to persevering Bronze coins and the vast majority of certified Mint State coins are either Brown or Red Brown. The NGC population report (10/15/2012) shows that out of 1203 One Centavo business strikes certified 42.8% are Brown, 35.2% Red Brown, and only 22% Red.

The number of Red Gems is even less with only 16.1% of the One Centavo business strikes grading MS65 RD or above. For some years in the series, and several of the die varieties, no Red Gems are known to exist.

Full Red proof One Centavos are even rarer than Full Red business strikes. The NGC population report (10/15/2012) shows that of 207 proof One Centavos certified 40.6% are Brown, 48.3% Red Brown, and only 11.1% Red. Gem quality Full Red proofs can be very difficult to find and all are quite rare. Only 18 specimens (8.7%) grade PF 65 RD or higher.

The attached picture shows my 1903 USA-Philippines One Centavo PR66 RD (Ex: Dr. Greg Pineda Philippine Collection). This gorgeous specimen is a blazing Full Red.

To see my One Centavo Registry Set click here: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=51347&Ranking=all

The highlights of this Registry Set are my 1903 PR66 RD (Ex: Dr. Greg Pineda Philippine Collection), 1904 PF67 RB (Ex: Just Having Fun Collection), and 1932-M MS66 RD.

Another One Centavo Registry Set that I recommend visiting is the set owned by coin928. This amazing One Centavo collection is 100% complete and all coins are fully described and illustrated. The coin928 USPI-1C Registry set is the second ranked One Centavo Registry Set and the top ranked set when only NGC coins are considered. To visit the coin928 USPI-1C Registry Set click here: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=34793&Ranking=ngc

To see the other coins that comprise an NGC USA-Philippines Type Set visit my award winning (2011 Best Presented Set Award) USA-Philippines Type Set at: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=51257&;;amp;Ranking=all

An expanded version of the USA-Philippines Type Set is found in my Custom USA-Philippines Type Set at: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=9238

Next week's installment will feature the One Centavo of 1937 - 1945.

To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.