JAA's Journal

A journal by JAA

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Entries in this journal

Culion Island Leper Colony Coinage

Thank you NGC for creating a competitive registry set category for the Culion Island Leper Colony Coinage. The Culion Island Leper Colony Coinage is a fascinating but often overlooked aspect of USA-Philippine numismatics. In 1906 the Bureau of Health for the U.S. Territory of the Philippines established a colony for leper patients on the small island of Culion in the China Sea. For health reasons, the decision was made that the leper colony should have a separate coinage of its own which wo
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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Reduced Size & Weight Five Centavos of 1930 - 1935

Today's Journal entry is the sixth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The fifth of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Reduced Size & Weight Five Centavos of 1930 - 1935. The coins in this slot include business strikes in five dates, and four recognized die varieties. All of the 1930 - 1935 Five Centavos were struck at the Manila mint and have an "M" Mint Mark on the reverse to the left of the date. In
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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Five Centavos of 1903 - 1928

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 Ch
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Attractive Blue, Russet, and Gold Toned Semi Key

The USA-Philippines Five Centavos series is a challenge to complete in mint state. While the rare 1918-S Mule overshadows the other dates in terms of difficulty there are several other key and semi key dates that are difficult to locate. All of the 1916-S through 1919-S Five Centavos have very small populations of certified mint state coins and attractive well struck examples are tough to find. Of those years the 1917-S is the easiest date to find in MS62 and above with a Combined NGC/PCGS
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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The "Commonwealth Reverse" One Centavo of 1937 - 194

Today's journal entry is the fourth installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The third of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the "Commonwealth Reverse" One Centavo of 1937 - 1944. The One Centavo of 1937 - 1944 continues the same obverse design that was used on the 1903 - 1936 One Centavo. The obverse was designed by Filipino artist Melicio Figueroa and engraved by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber. The design
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Sixty-eight Years Ago Today: "A day" October 20,1944 U.S. Forces Return to the Philippines

Today is the sixty-eighth anniversary of the start of the largest campaign of the Pacific War, the Liberation of the Philippines. On October 20, 1944 an allied invasion force of over 200,000 ground troops under the command of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur landed on the island of Leyte in the central Philippines. At sea in support of the land forces were over 200,000 sailors and airmen of the most formable naval force ever assembled. Throughout the Philippines over 120,000 Philippine
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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The One Centavo of 1903 - 1936

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
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Just For Fun Quiz: The Answers

Congratulations Doug (dadams) on your correct answer to my Just for Fun quiz. http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=12235 QUESTION: What U.S. BRANCH MINT produced coins in 1920 and 1921 with no Mint Mark and what denominations were involved? ANSWER: The U.S. Manila Branch Mint produced coins in 1920 and 1921 with no Mint Marks. The denominations involved were One Centavo, Five Centavos, Ten Centavos, Twenty Centavos, and Fifty Centavos. The U.S. Manila
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Just for Fun Quiz

Greetings fellow Collectors Society Members. Just for fun test your numismatic knowledge or research skills by answering the following two part question: What U.S. BRANCH MINT produced coins in 1920 and 1921 with no Mint Mark and what denominations were involved? I will give you three hints. (1) The answer is not Philadelphia. (2) Five denominations of coins were involved. (3) You can find the answer to both parts of this question in the "Red Book". Enter your answers under the "Dis
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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The Half Centavo of 1903 - 1908

Today's Journal entry is the second installment in my weekly series on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. The first of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set is the Half Centavo of 1903 - 1908. The Half 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
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United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: An Introduction

Greetings fellow Collectors Society members. Today's Journal entry is the first in a twenty-one week series that I will be posting on the United States coinage for the Philippine Islands. Each week I will describe in detail one of the twenty slots that compose a NGC USA-Philippines Type Set. United States coinage for the Philippine Islands is one of the most interesting and historically important series of U.S. coins. After the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American war of 18
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Registry Set Milestone

With my most recent acquisition, a 1906 PR65 Five Centavos, my "USA-Philippines, Proof Issues" Registry Set has reached a major milestone; it is now 60% complete. Of all the coins in the USA-Philippines series the proofs are my favorites. Proofs really bring out the full beauty of artist Melico Figueroa's designs and many of the Gems in my collection are absolutely gorgeous.   USA-Philippines proof coins were struck for only five years and in very small quantities compared to modern proof
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Spectacular Numismatic Quintet

My newest Custom Registry Set ("USA-Philippines Top Pops") showcases my USA-Philippines Top Pop specimens. All USA-Philippines Top Pop coins are very special and the five coins in this set comprise quite a spectacular numismatic quintet. 1904 Half Centavo PF 66 RB (Combined NGC/PCGS Population 4/0). The obverse of this rare Top Pop specimen is a beautiful uniform Dark Cherry Red. The reverse is 90% Red with Dark Cherry Red periphery toning. A truly beautiful coin! 1904 One Centavo PF 67
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A Tribute to My Father on His 93 Birthday

My father was born ninety-three years ago today on October 1, 1919. The "JAA USA/Philippines Collection" is dedicated to his memory. My father belonged to the "Greatest Generation". During World War ll he served in the U.S. Army in the Southwest Pacific where he participated in the New Guinea, Luzon, and Southern Philippine campaigns. When my father returned from the war he brought back with him examples of coins and notes from Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines as well as some amazi
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The Rarest of the Rare: The Other Side of the Coin

The 1904 USA-Philippines One Centavo PF67 RB is an ULTRA RARE Top Pop beauty with a Combined NGC/PCGS Population of only two specimens. For the back-story on this coin and photo of the obverse see my Journal entry "The Rarest of the Rare": http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=12172 The photo attached to this Journal entry is the reverse side of this amazing specimen. The photos really do not do justice to this spectacular beauty. Both obverse and rever
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The Rarest of the Rare

All Gem quality USA-Philippine proof coins are rare and PF67 Superb Gems are Ultra Rare treasures. The 1904 One Centavo in PF67RB is one of those very special coins. This Top Pop treasure has a combined NGC/PCGS population of two with no specimens graded higher. USA-Philippine Proof Sets were only manufactured for five years (1903 through 1906 and again in 1908) and all were extremely small mintages compared to today's modern proof sets. The mintages for USA-Philippine Proof Sets by year are;
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Rethinking my "USA-Philippines, Complete" Registry Sets

When NGC created its new "NGC Coins" filter I decided to take a fresh look at my "USA-Philippines, Complete" Registry Sets to see if I could reshuffle them to create a number one "NGC Coins" set. When I started out my "JAA USA/Philippines Complete Collection" registry set: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=68602&Ranking=all ranked number 5 when viewed with the "All Coins" filter and number 2 when viewed with the "NGC Coins" filter. In
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Comparison Photos of 1928-M USA-Philippines Twenty Centavos Mule and Regular 1907 - 1929 Twenty Centavos

For background on the 1928-M USA-Philippines Twenty Centavos Mule (Muled with Five Centavos Reverse Die) see my previous Journal entry "Those Amazing Mules: A Tale of Two Mules" at: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=12142 The coin on the left side of the attached photo, a 1929-M Twenty Centavos, represents the regular 1907 - 1929 Twenty Centavos reverse. The regular Twenty Centavos reverse has a broader shield and smaller date than the 1928-M Mule. Th
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Top Pop 1904 USA-Philippines Proof Half Centavo: The Other Side of the Coin

My 1904 USA/Philippines Half Centavo PCGS PR66RB (Combined NGC/PCGS Population 4/0) arrived in the mail today and it is a real beauty much nicer than the Teletrade photos. In the Teletrade photos the obverse of this specimen appeared to be primarily brown. The obverse is actually a beautiful uniform Dark Cherry Red over a pristine mirror surface. The reverse which appeared to be a mix of Red and Brown in the Teletrade photo is actually 90% Red with Dark Cherry Red periphery toning. A truly be
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Those Amazing Mules: A Tale of Two Mules.

A Mule is a coin struck from two dies not originally intended to be used together. During the forty-seven years that the Philippines were under United States sovereignty the mint produced two mules, one by mistake in 1918 and the other intentionally in 1928. The story of these two Mules is one of the most interesting in U.S./Philippine numismatics. 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 November
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Top Pop 1904 USA-Philippines Proof Half Centavo

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
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My Wife the Penny Hoarder

My wife is a penny hoarder. For years she has kept a jar of pennies on the kitchen counter which she regularly adds to by saving the pennies in her pocket change, cleaning out my pockets and stopping to pick up every penny she sees lying in the street. My wife is not a coin collector by any stretch of the imagination. In fact she knows absolutely nothing about numismatics and does not understand why anyone would pay more than face value for an old coin. When my wife was a little girl, her m
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A Difficult Decision

When you have only limited resources to devote to new purchases invariably you are confronted with some difficult decisions. This afternoon I was confronted with one of those tough choices. When I found out that the Stack's Bowers was offering a 1905 NGC PF67 USA-Philippines Five Centavos in their August 2012 Philadelphia ANA World's Fair of Money - Internet Only Auction I started to drool. The 1905 Five Centavos is a PROOF ONLY ISSUE with a mintage of only 471. This is the lowest mintage o
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Teletrade Auction of the Philippine Coins of the "Just Having Fun" Collection

There was a lot of excitement when Teletrade announced that it was auctioning Philippine coins from the famous "Just Having Fun Collection". The auction which concluded last night had some very mixed results. The "Just Having Fun" collection ranks among one of the finest USA-Philippine collections ever assembled. The "Just Having Fun" NGC USA-Philippines Type set was the top ranked set in its category from 2004 through 2010. The "Just Having Fun" PCGS Registry Sets are even more spectacula
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The One That Got Away

Today's Stack's Bowers auction had a number of very nice USA-Philippines coins including a 1905 NGC PF63 Peso that I was bidding on. The 1905 Peso is a PROOF ONLY ISSUE with a mintage of only 471 coins making it the lowest mintage USA-Philippines Peso. The specimen that I was bidding on, Lot # 40716, had very attractive toning and was graded NGC PF63. The Allen catalog price for a 1905 Peso in PF63 is $1100.00. Going into the auction my internet pre-bid of $900.00 ($1057.50 with buyer's
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