Today's Journal entry is the fifth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The fourth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Five Centavos of 1903 - 1928.

The coins in this slot include business strikes in twelve dates, five dates with proof issues, and three recognized die varieties including the famous 1918-S MULE.

The Five Centavos 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 "Five Centavos" 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 Five Centavos was struck in Copper-Nickel (75% copper, 25%). It had a weigh of 77.16 Grains (5.25 grams) and a diameter of 20.5 mm.

Business strikes of the Five Centavos were produced at the Philadelphia Mint in 1903 and 1904. The Philadelphia mint made 8,910,000 Five Centavos business strikes in 1903 and 1,075,000 in 1904.

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

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

No Five Centavos business strikes were made during the years 1905 through 1915.

In 1916 production of Five Centavos business strikes resumed, this time at the San Francisco Mint. The San Francisco Mint struck Five Centavos business strikes every year from 1916 through 1919. The coins produced at the San Francisco Mint have an "S" Mint Mark on the reverse to the left of the date.

Mintage figures for the Five Centavos business strikes produced at the San Francisco Mint are as follows: 1916-S (300,000), 1917-S (2,300,000), 1918-S (2,780,000), and 1919-S (1,220,000).

In July, 1920, the newly opened United States Manila Branch Mint took over Five Centavos production. The Manila Mint did not use a mint-mark on its Five Centavos coinage of 1920, and 1921. No Five Centavos were struck anywhere during 1922, 1923, and 1924. Five Centavos production resumed at the Manila Mint in 1925. The Manila Mint produced Five Centavos business strikes every year from 1925 through 1928. The 1925 through 1928 Five Centavos have an "M" Mint Mark on the reverse to the left of the date.

Mintage figures for the Five Centavos business strikes produced at the Manila Mint are as follows: 1920 (1,421,078), 1921 (2,131,529), 1925-M (1,000,000), 1926-M (1,200,000), 1927-M (1,000,000), and 1928-M (1,000,000).

The 1903 - 1925 Five Centavos have three recognized die varieties, all of which occurred in 1918. They are the 1918-S Repunched Date (Allen number 4.08a), 1918-S/S (Allen number 4.08aa), and the famous 1918-S MULE (Allen number 4.08b).

The 1918-S Mule was produced when a Twenty Centavo reverse die was mistakenly combined with a normal Five Centavos obverse die. The 1907 - 1929 Twenty Centavos used the same reverse design as the 1903 - 1925 Five Centavos and had a diameter which was only .5 mm smaller so it is easy to see how this error occurred. The 1918-S Mule has a smaller date and wider shield than the regular Five Centavos. The 1918-S Five Centavo Mule is one of the rarest and most sought after USA-Philippine coins.

Strike Issues: According to the classical reference book "United States Territorial Coinage For The Philippine Islands" by Neil Shafer: "Obverses of the later S mint issues (1918-1919) are often weakly struck, causing much loss of detail. The first year of Manila issues, 1920, shows a great lack of rim sharpness and overall detail on a great many pieces. Wing tips on the reverse are occasionally seen flatly struck." (Shafer, 1961, p.38)

The 1903 business strike was the only date that was produced in quantity. This, combined with the fact that it was a first year of issue and many were saved by collectors, make it the easiest date for type coin collectors to find in Gem Uncirculated. A certified 1903 Five Centavos in MS65 can generally be purchased for around $100.00. Gem quality 1904 business strikes are only slightly more expensive.

All of the San Francisco and Manila issues are scarce in Choice Uncirculated and rare in Gem quality. In fact some of the dates have no known examples in MS65 or above.

The attached picture shows my 1905 USA-Philippines Five Centavos PR65 (Ex: Dr. Greg Pineda Philippine Collection). The 1905 Five Centavos is the rarest of the proof issues with a miniscule mintage of only 471 and this is one of the finest known surviving specimens.

To see my Five Centavos Registry Set click here: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=68601&Ranking=all

The highlights of this Registry Set are my 1903 PF66, 1905 PR65 (Ex: Dr. Greg Pineda Philippine Collection), 1906 PR65, and 1908 PF66.

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&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 Reduced Size and Weight Five Centavos of 1930 - 1935.

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