JAA's Journal

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Entries in this journal

Numismatics and History

Historians and archeologists have long regarded coins as important historical artifacts for understanding the culture and history of ancient peoples. That is why all world class museums include ancient coins in their collections. Modern coins and notes also reflect the historical and cultural context of their times. In order to fully appreciate the coins and notes in our collections it is important to understand the historical context in which they were created. While most numismatic refere

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Congrats Gary

Congratulations Gary (gherrmann 44) on your well deserved 2012 Journal Award. Like many Collectors' Society members I eagerly look forward to your wonderful Gary's Coin of the Month Journals. The beautiful technically perfect photography, creative art work, and entertaining and informative narratives combine into an awesome package that sets the standard for Collector's Society Journals. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The "Commonwealth Reverse" Fifty Centavos of 1944 -

Today's Journal entry is the sixteenth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The fifteenth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the "Commonwealth Reverse" Fifty Centavos of 1944 - 1945. The "Commonwealth Reverse" Fifty Centavos of 1944 - 1945 is the same size (27 mm) and weight (10.0 grams [154.32 grains] of .750 fineness silver [ASW .2411 oz]) as the "Reduced Size & Weight" Fifty Centavos of 1907 - 1921 and u

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Reduced Size and Weight Fifty Centavos of 1907 - 1921

Today's Journal entry is the fifteenth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The fourteenth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Reduced Size and Weight Fifty Centavos of 1907 - 1921. When the U.S. Congress established the Standards for U.S. Philippine coins in March 1903 the price of silver was at an all time low. By 1905 rising silver prices brought the bullion value of Philippine silver coins to the level

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Top Pop 1920 (M) USA-Philippines Fifty Centavos

One of the challenges in collecting USA-Philippine coins is that Gem Quality examples are rare to nonexistent for many dates. The 1920 (M) Fifty Centavos is a good example of this phenomenon. Although the 1920 (M) Fifty Centavos had a mintage of 420,000 there are no known certified examples in true Gem quality. The highest certified grade is MS64 and the entire NGC/PCGS Population in this grade is only thirteen coins. The newest addition to my "USA-Philippines Top Pops" collection http://co

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Fifty Centavos of 1903 - 1906

Today's Journal entry is the fourteenth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The thirteenth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Fifty Centavos of 1903 - 1906. The Fifty Centavos was designed by Filipino artist Melicio Figueroa and engraved by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber. The obverse design features a young Filipino woman standing to the right in a flowing dress while striking an anvil with a ha

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Commonwealth Reverse Twenty Centavos of 1937 - 1945

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

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Weekday Teletrade Bargain

I normally don't monitor weekday Teletrade auctions as USA-Philippine coins are generally not offered during the week. Monday's Teletrade auction was the exception in that it offered a number of Gem and Near Gem One Centavos. All of the coins were either 1931-M or 1934-M. I already own a beautiful 1934-M in MS66 RB so the 1934-M specimens did not interest me. The 1931-M is a date that I needed and there were several specimens in this auction. The nicest example was a 1931-M MS65 RB. Alt

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United State Coinage for the Philippine Islands: An Index to the First Twelve Weeks of this Journal Series

Today's Journal entry is an index to the first twelve installments of my weekly series on United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The index includes links to each of my weekly journals in this series. The topics covered to date include an introduction to the series and the first eleven slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set. If you missed one of the journals in this series just click on the appropriate link in this index. I hope that you have enjoyed the journals in this

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Reduced Size and Weight Twenty Centavos of 1907 - 1929

Today's Journal entry is the twelfth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The eleventh of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Reduced Size and Weight Twenty Centavos of 1907 - 1929. When the U.S. Congress established the Standards for U.S. Philippine coins in March 1903 the price of silver was at an all time low. By 1905 rising silver prices brought the bullion value of Philippine silver coins to the level wh

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Twenty Centavos of 1903 - 1906

Today's Journal entry is the eleventh installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The tenth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Twenty Centavos of 1903 - 1906. The Twenty Centavos was designed by Filipino artist Melicio Figueroa and engraved by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber. The obverse design features a young Filipino woman standing to the right in a flowing dress while striking an anvil with a hammer he

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Breaking the 100,000 Registry Point Barrier

Even though I have been collecting coins for well over half a century I did not own my first certified coin until 2007. That was the year that I joined the Collector's Society, created my first signature set, and started competing in the Registry. If someone told me back then that my "Total Coin Registry Points" would someday reach 100,000 Points I would have told them that they were out of their mind. Until recently I never paid much attention to the "Total Coin Registry Points" on my Collec

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Five Star Beauty

I purchased a really attractive 1904S Twenty Centavos, graded NGC MS64, from David Lawrence Rare Coins yesterday. The 1904S Twenty Centavos had a mintage of 2,060,000. The NGC population for the 1904S Twenty Centavos in MS64 is six coins with only one specimen graded higher. NGC's high grade for this coin is MS65. The PCGS population is 20/13. Attractive high end examples of this issue are moderately difficult to find, and this is certainly one of the finest NGC certified examples. Da

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Upgrade to My Registry Sets: 1906 50C, NGC PF66

The newest addition to my USA/Philippine Registry Sets is an absolutely gorgeous 1906 PF66 Fifty Centavos that I purchased from Aspen Coins in last Sunday's eBay auctions. I am always on the lookout for nice upgrades to add to my Registry Sets and this specimen is one of the nicest proof Fifty Centavos that I have seen for a long time. It is blast white with deep mirror surfaces. This spectacular specimen makes a wonderful upgrade for the 1903 - 1906 Fifty Centavos slot in my prize winning (

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My Newest Top Pop Acquisition: 1905 One Centavo, NGC PF66 RB

USA-Philippines proof coins are very special treasures. When these much sought after coins are offered in the marketplace, it is generally at one of the major auctions held in conjunction with a national coin show. Imagine my surprise when I found a Top Pop (NGC Population 1/0, Combined NGC/PCGS Population 6/0) 1905 PF66RB One Centavo on eBay. The coin was offered by Aspen Coins in an eBay auction that ended 12/3/2012. The 1905 USA-Philippines Proof Set had a mintage of only 471 making it the

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Numismatic Detective: Unraveling a Numismatic Myth

Sometimes even the most respected numismatic scholars get their facts wrong. When this happens misinformation can be perpetuated for decades as succeeding generations of numismatists quote the original supposedly reliable source. In this Journal posting I will examine and attempt to unravel one of the most enduring numismatic myths the mistaken belief that the 1920 "Wilson Dollar" (the official medal struck to commemorate the opening of the Manila Mint) was designed by Clifford Hewitt. By

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Commonwealth Reverse Ten Centavos of 1937 - 1945

Today's Journal entry is the tenth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The ninth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Commonwealth Reverse Ten Centavos of 1937 - 1945. The "Commonwealth Reverse" Ten Centavos of 1937 - 1945 is the same size (16.5 mm) and weight (2.0 grams [30.86 grains] of .750 fineness silver [ASW 0.0482 oz]) as the "Reduced Size & Weight" Ten Centavos of 1907 - 1935 and uses the same ob

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Tips for Sprucing Up Your Custom Registry Sets

Did you know that you can use HTML Code to add graphics and photographs to your Custom Registry Set? I really love the Custom Registry Sets. They provide a wonderful opportunity for creativity and telling your own numismatic story. Obviously my fellow Collector's Society members agree with me as there are currently over 7,000 Custom Registry Sets. There are some amazing Custom Sets in the Registry and I really enjoy exploring them in my spare time. The NGC judges will certainly have a diffic

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Reduced Size and Weight Ten Centavos of 1907 - 1935

Today's Journal entry is the ninth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The eighth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Reduced Size and Weight Ten Centavos of 1907 - 1935. When the U.S. Congress established the Standards for U.S. Philippine coins in March 1903 the price of silver was at an all time low. By 1905 rising silver prices brought the bullion value of Philippine silver coins to the level where they

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Registry View Counts: Another Way of Keeping Score

As you can probably guess from my journal postings, the area of numismatics that I am most passionate over is the coins, medals, and notes issued by the United States for the Philippine Islands while they were under U.S. sovereignty (1898 -- 1945). I have a special emotional connection with this area of numismatics that is rooted in my father's participation in the liberation of the Philippines during the Second World War. One of the main reasons for my participation in the Collector's Societ

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World War l Era Gem

My newest acquisition a 1917-S USA-Philippines Twenty Centavos arrived in the mail this afternoon and it is a real beauty. Finding Gem quality examples of World War l era USA-Philippines Twenty Centavos can be quite a challenge. All of the Twenty Centavos struck at the San Francisco Mint during these "teen years" have low mintages compared to modern coins and the number of certified Gem quality survivors is quite small for most dates. Well struck Gems are even more elusive as most of the Tw

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Ten Centavos of 1903 - 1906

Today's Journal entry is the eighth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The seventh of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Ten Centavos of 1903 - 1906. The Ten Centavos was designed by Filipino artist Melicio Figueroa and engraved by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber. The obverse design features a young Filipino woman standing to the right in a flowing dress while striking an anvil with a hammer held in

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Wow Take A Look At The New NGC Registry Award Icons!

I really like the new icons NGC has designed for award winning registry sets. When I logged in to my Collector's Society account this evening I was pleasantly surprised to find that the nondescript "2011 Best Presented Set" icon on my USA-Philippines Type Set http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=51257 had been replaced with a much more attractive orange colored icon. If you look through the registry you will see that the award icons for all of

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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The "Commonwealth Reverse" Five Centavos of 1937 - 1945

Today's Journal entry is the seventh installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The sixth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the "Commonwealth Reverse" Five Centavos of 1937 - 1945. The "Commonwealth Reverse" Five Centavos of 1937 - 1945 is the same size (19mm) and weight 75.16 Grains (4.75 grams) as the "Reduced Size & Weight" Five Centavos of 1930 -- 1935 and uses the same obverse design. The Five Centavos o

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USA-Philippines 1936 Commemorative Issues

Thank you NGC for creating a competitive registry set category for the "USA-Philippines 1936 Commemorative Issues". When the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American war of 1898, the Philippines became a United States possession. Unlike other colonial powers the U.S. always had intentions of giving the Philippine Islands full independence once the inhabitants were given educational opportunities and the basis for good government was established. By 1935 "Nation Building" had p

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