Today's Journal entry is the thirteenth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The twelfth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Commonwealth Reverse Twenty Centavos of 1937 - 1945.

The "Commonwealth Reverse" Twenty Centavos of 1937 - 1945 is the same size (20 mm) and weight (4.0 grams [ 61.72 grains] of .750 fineness silver [ASW 0.0964 oz]) as the "Reduced Size & Weight" Twenty Centavos of 1907 - 1935 and uses the same obverse design.

The Twenty Centavos obverse was designed by Filipino artist Melicio Figueroa and engraved by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber. The design features a young Filipino woman standing to the right in a flowing dress while striking an anvil with a hammer held in her right hand. Her left hand is raised and holding an olive branch. In the background is a billowing volcano. The obverse carries the inscriptions "Twenty Centavos" and "Filipinas" (Spanish for Philippines).

In 1935 the United States Congress granted the Philippines Commonwealth Status and promised independence in 1946. To reflect the new status of the Philippines as a self governing Commonwealth, the reverse design of all regular issue USA-Philippines coins was changed in 1937 to depict the official seal of the "Commonwealth of the Philippines".

Design elements of the "Commonwealth Reverse" incorporate the rich history of the Philippines. The eagle perched atop the shield, of course, represents the United States. The shield used was an adaptation of a design used for the official seal of The Government of the Philippine Islands which appeared on Philippine paper money starting in 1905 (Allen 2008). The three stars at the top of the shield represent the three main geographical regions of the Philippines: Luzon, Mindanao, and the Visayas. The oval in the center of the shield depicts a modification of the Coat of Arms of the City of Manila which dates to 1596. A castle surmounted by a crown is in the upper portion of the oval. The mythical creature in the lower part of the oval is a half lion and half dolphin holding a sword with guard and hilt. The lettering on the Scroll beneath the shield reads "Commonwealth of the Philippines".

The 1937 and 1938 Twenty Centavos were struck at the Manila mint. No Twenty Centavos were produced in 1939 and 1940. Production of Twenty Centavos coins resumed at the Manila mint in 1941. All of the Twenty Centavos struck at the Manila mint have an "M" Mint-Mark on the reverse to the left of the date. The Mint-Mark that was used for the 1937 and 1941 coins has a wide M with the middle point not coming down to the base of the two legs. The 1938 Mint-Mark uses a narrower M with the midpoint even with legs.

No Twenty Centavos were produced anywhere during 1942 through 1943 due to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

During the 1942 through 1944 Japanese occupation of the Philippines, nearly all coins disappeared from circulation. In the occupied areas the Japanese collected all of the coins, melted them down, and shipped them back to Japan. The few pre-war coins that escaped the melting pots were horded and hid away until after the war. Most daily commerce was conducted with low denomination paper currency (Emergency or Guerilla Currency) printed by Guerrilla military units, local municipalities, or Military and Civilian Currency Boards authorized by General MacArthur or the Commonwealth government-in-exile under President Quezon.

During the Japanese occupation there was an extremely active resistance movement in the Philippines, and allied intelligence was very much aware, of the economic situation in the islands and the need to bring new coins and currency with them when they liberated the Philippines.

In preparation for General MacArthur's return to the Philippines, the Treasury Department ordered the Denver Mint to strike millions of Twenty Centavos coins. The Denver Mint struck 28.596 million Twenty Centavos in 1944 and 82.804 million in 1945. When American forces liberated the Philippines in 1944 - 1945 they brought with them the Victory Coins produced in the continental United States. The coins struck at the Denver mint have a D Mint-Mark on the reverse to the left of the date.

Mintage figures for the Commonwealth Reverse Twenty Centavos are as follows: 1937-M (2.665 million), 1938-M (3 million), 1941-M (1.5 million), 1944-D (28.596), and 1945-D (82.804 million).

The Commonwealth Reverse Twenty Centavos has four recognized die varieties. They are: 1937-M Repunched Date (Allen number 12.01a), 1944-D/S (Allen number 12.04a), 1944-D/D (Allen number 12.04b), and 1945-D/D (Allen number 12.05a).

1944-D/S Twenty Centavos: The 1944 D over S Twenty Centavos is perhaps the most intriguing USA-Philippine coin of any date or denomination. What makes this die variety so special is that it is the only known USA-Philippine coin of any date or denomination with Mint-Marks from two different United States mints. The original "S" Mint-Mark on this die variety is overpunched with a "D" Mint-Mark. The only explanation that I can think of for this very unusual die variety is that there must have been some war-time confusion by the treasury department regarding which mint would be responsible for production of the various denominations of 1944 USA-Philippines Victory coins. The dies for all of these denominations were manufactured in Philadelphia with Mint-Marks added for the appropriate branch Mint. Perhaps an "S" Mint-Mark was added in error then corrected by the "D" overpunch. A more likely scenario is that the Treasury department may have originally planned to produce at least some 1944 Twenty Centavos in San Francisco then changed their mind and assigned all Twenty Centavos production to the Denver mint. If Twenty Centavos dies had already been punched with a "S" Mint-Mark it would have been necessary to correct them with a "D" overpunch. Based on Mint-Mark positions it is known that at least four of the dies used to produce 1944 Twenty Centavos had D over S Mint-Marks.

Strike Issues: The Commonwealth Reverse Twenty Centavos has numerous strike issues and well struck examples of this common type coin are a challenge to locate. According to the classical reference book "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands" by Neil Shafer: "Practically all obverses have flattened hair on the figure's head. Reverses show the same lack of detail encountered on other Commonwealth issues... Coins of 1944-45 generally lack sharpness of detail on the obverses; reverse remains about the same as earlier (1937 -- 1941) strikes." (Shafer 1961, page 39)

Gem quality examples of this type coin from the pre-war years (1937-M, 1938-M, and 1941-M) are moderately priced and generally can be purchased for under a hundred dollars in MS65. Many uncirculated rolls of 1944-D and 1945-D Twenty Centavos were saved and raw Gem quality examples of those dates are abundant and quite inexpensive ($12.50 - $15.00). Certified examples of the war-time (1944-D and 1945-D) Twenty Centavos in MS65 and MS66 are regularly seen in Philippine coin auctions and on eBay and can be purchased for very reasonable prices. A 1944-D or 1945-D Twenty Centavos in MS66 can typically be purchased for well under $100.00.

The attached picture shows my 1944-D/S NGC MS66 Twenty Centavos.

To see my Twenty Centavos Registry Set click here: