USPI-1C
1906 Proof


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 1906 USA-PHIL ALLEN-2.04
Grade: PCGS PF 64 RB
Owner: coin928
 
Winning Set: USPI-1C
Date Added: 8/27/2012
Research: See NGC's Census Report for this Coin

Owner's Description

Lyman Allen #2.04 (KM #163) - Mintage: 500

Proof mintage for this year was limited to 500 sets. Other than the 1906S Peso, no coins were produced for general circulation in 1906, thus making this the rarest of all Philippine One Centavo coins by year.

Unlike the three previous years, the 1906 proof sets were not made to order. Philippine Governor-General Henry C. Idle authorized 500 sets to be struck to satisfy the small collector demand for these sets. These sets were offered for sale by the Bureau of Insular Affairs into the early 1930s'.

The seven coin Philippine proof sets were produced at the Philadelphia mint from 1903 through 1908 (excluding 1907), and were sold to the general public for $2.00 per set. At the time these sets were produced, there was no protective packaging. Each coin was individually wrapped in tissue paper and placed in a plain paper coin envelope. As a result, many proof coins exhibit micro thin hairline scratches as well as heavy toning. When combined with very low mintages, and low initial sales to the public, it's easy to see why fully gem proof coins are very rare.

This particular coin is primarily brown with enough red showing through to afford it an RB grade.. The reverse has some dark spots, but the surfaces are otherwise very clean. With a mintage of only 500, it is a rare find in any grade.

As an interesting aside, the 1895 Morgan Dollar was also produced only in Proof condition that year, yet with less than half the mintage, an example of the 1906 Proof Centavo can be obtained for an exceptionally reasonable price by comparison.

Date acquired: 8/26/2012 (already graded by PCGS)

References:
- Shafer, N. "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands." Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1961.

Rev. 9/30/2012

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