US Philippines 5 Centavos Silver Coin 1917
Obverse: 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 Mayon Volcano.
Lettering: "FIVE CENTAVOS" and "FILIPINAS" (Spanish for Philippines).
Reverse: Bald Eagle with spread wings perched atop an American shield, date below
Lettering: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA · 1917 ·
Edge: Lettering: Smooth.
“S” – stands for San Francisco Mint
Years: 1903-1928.
Value: 5 Centavos.
Metal: Copper-nickel.
Weight: 5.25 g.
Diameter: 21.3 mm.
Thickness: 1.68 mm.
Shape: Round.
United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands
The Philippines under U.S. Sovereignty 1898 – 1935
Half Centavo One Centavo 5 Centavos 10 Centavos
20 Centavos 50 Centavos One Peso
United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: 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.
United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands: 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 1930 the Five Centavos was reduced in size from a diameter of 20.5mm to 19mm. The weight was also reduced from 77.16 Grains (5.25 grams) to 75.16 Grains (4.75 grams). The Reduced Size & Weight Five Centavos was struck in the same Copper-Nickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) alloy used for earlier Five Centavos.
The reason for the reduction in size was to avoid confusion with two similar size coins the Reduced Size & Weight Twenty Centavos of 1907 - 1929 and the Culion Leper Colony One Centavo.
In 1906 Congress passed an Act reducing the weight and fineness of the four denominations of USA/Philippine silver coins. Among these changes the silver Twenty Centavos coin was reduced from 5.385 Grams, .900 fineness silver, ASW .15580 oz to 4.0 grams, 750 fineness silver, ASW .0964 oz. The size of the Twenty Centavos was also reduced from 23mm to 20mm. The first year of production for the new "Reduced Size and Weight" silver coins was 1907.
Since the 1903 - 1928 Five Centavos (20.5mm diameter) was so close in size to the new "Reduced Size and Weight" Twenty Centavos (20.0 mm diameter) mistakes were bound to follow. Inattentive merchants or consumers could easily find themselves shortchanged by fifteen Centavos. The confusion even extended to mint employees. In 1918 the San Francisco mint accidentally Muled a Five Centavos obverse die with a Twenty Centavos reverse die creating the famous 1918-S Five Centavos Mule.
The Reduced Size and Weight Five Centavos of 1930 - 1935 uses the same obverse and reverse designs as the larger 1903 - 1928 Five Centavos. 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.
Mintage figures for the 1930 - 1935 Five Centavos are as follows: 1930-M (2,905,182), 1931-M (3,476,790), 1932-M (3,955,861), 1934-M (2,153,729), and 1935-M (2,754,000).
The 1930 - 1935 Five Centavos have four recognized die varieties. They are the 1930-M Repunched Date (Allen number 5.01a), 1934-M Repunched 1 (Allen number 5.04a), 1934-M Double Die Reverse and Repunched 1 (Allen number 5.04aa), and the 1935-M Repunched Date (Allen number 5.05a).
Strike Issues: The Reduced Size & Weight Five Centavos have a number of significant strike issues. According to the classical reference book "United States Territorial Coinage For The Philippine Islands" by Neil Shafer: "Obverses show the figure's left hand flat; also, many have weakly struck rims with resultant loss in detail of design (especially around the volcano and left side of the pedestal). Reverses vary greatly in clarity of strike. Some have poor rim with sharp breast feathers on the eagle, and others have a fair rim but poor wing tips and part of shield flat. Dates most susceptible to poor strikes are 1930 and 1931, although the other years of this type show up poorly struck." (Shafer, 1961, p.38)
All of the Reduced Size & Weight Five Centavos of 1930 - 1935 are scarce in Choice Uncirculated and Very Rare in Gem quality. In fact NGC and PCGS combined have only certified thirty-four (34) 1930 - 1935 Five Centavos in MS65, and one (1) in MS66, with no specimens graded higher.