USPI-1C
1914-S


Obverse
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Reverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Origin/Country: United States
Design Description: PHILIPPINES UNDER U.S. SOVEREIGNTY
Item Description: 1C 1914 S USA-PHIL ALLEN-2.12
Grade: NGC MS 65 RB
Owner: coin928
 
Winning Set: USPI-1C
Date Added: 7/22/2012
Research: See NGC's Census Report for this Coin

Owner's Description

Lyman Allen #2.12 (KM #163) - Mintage: 5,000,500

This issue is fairly common, and generally well struck, but high grade example are rare. Full red examples are virtually non-existent.

This Red-Brown coin is currently the finest example graded by NGC. No full red specimens have been certified by NGC and there are only two with higher numeric grades of MS66 and MS67, but both are graded as brown. This coin is particularly interesting in that the obverse is primarily red with a bit of brown toning, whereas the reverse is primarily brown with hints of red showing through. These characteristics are not surprising and are very typical of copper coins struck at the San Francisco mint between 1908 and 1924. The obverse color is pale and brassy and exhibits the so-called "woodgrain" streaks common to many of these coins. The reverse, although much darker, also exhibits the same "woodgrain" pattern. This streaking is due to impurities in the alloy or concentrations of pure copper due to incomplete mixing with the tin and zinc. When the ingots were rolled into strips for blanking, these impurities or concentrations became elongated and appeared as streaks in the coins when they began to tone.

There is one other aspect of this coin that adds interest. It appears to have been struck through a small piece of material on the eagle's right shoulder just below the beak. The obverse is otherwise very well struck. The reverse exhibits weakness in the right hand that is typical of all coins in this series.

Varieties
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ALLEN-2.12a Large "S" - This variety was always questioned by Lyman Allen, but has been included in every edition of his catalog that I own up to and including the 2012 release. I think that PCGS may have certified at least one, but they ceased to recognize it as a variety in 2009. To my knowledge, NGC has never recognized this variety. I have acquired a number of 1914S Centavos and while the thickness (and possibly the size) does vary from coin to coin, I have never seen one I would consider to be a true "Large-S."

Date acquired: 7/18/2012 (already graded by NGC)

References:
- "San Francisco Mint Cents 1908-24" posted by David Lange, NGC Research Director on July 1, 2003 (http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=726)

Rev. 11/30/2012

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