United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: The "Commonwealth Reverse" Fifty Centavos of 1944 - 1945 by JAA USA/Philippines Collection

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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 uses the same obverse design.

 

The Fifty Centavos obverse was designed by Filipino artist Melicio Figueroa. 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 "Fifty 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". Since no regular issue Fifty Centavos were produced between 1937 and 1943 the first year that the "Commonwealth Reverse" was used on regular issue Fifty Centavos was 1944.

 

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". All regular issue "Commonwealth Reverse" Fifty Centavos were produced at the San Francisco Mint and carry a "S" Mint-Mark on the reverse to the left of the date.

 

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 San Francisco Mint to strike millions of Fifty Centavos coins. The San Francisco Mint struck 19.187 million Fifty Centavos in 1944 and 18.120 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 "Commonwealth Reverse" Fifty Centavos has two recognized die varieties. They are: 1944-S/S (Allen number 15.01a), and 1945-S/S (Allen number 15.02a.

 

Strike Issues: According to the classical reference book "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands" by Neil Shafer: "Obverses show less severe flattening of frontal hair than the earlier issues. Many do lack clarity, though, and appear lightly struck. Reverses generally do not have a well struck Coat-of-Arms, and wording of ribbon is hardly ever completely legible. It may be well to note in connection with the Commonwealth reverse that the small eagle sitting on top is supposed to have some feathers creating a pattern on his chest, The pattern is rarely visible... the usual occurrence is to find a completely flat chest on the eagle." (Shafer 1961, page 40)

 

Raw Gem quality examples of this type coin are readily available from any dealer that specializes in USA-Philippine coins. The 1944-S and 1945-S Fifty Centavos have book values of $20.00 in MS65. Certified MS65 and MS66 examples of these dates are readily available at a modest premium over raw coins of comparable quality.

 

The attached picture shows my Top Pop 1945-S NGC MS67 Fifty Centavos. In MS67 the 1945-S Fifty Centavos has a combined NGC/PCGS certified population of 23 specimens with none graded higher.

 

To see my Fifty Centavos Registry Set click here: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=51266&Ranking=all

 

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=ngc

 

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 Peso of 1903 - 1906.

 

See more journals by JAA USA/Philippines Collection

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Some of the San Francisco coins made in 1944/45 were struck from Philippine silver coins and paid for with gold bars smuggled out as submarine ballast from Corregidor under the noses of the Japanese just before the island surrendered.