Owner Comments:
Lyman Allen #2.13 (KM #163) - 1915 S - Mintage: 2,500,000
Given the mintage, it is unclear why this coin is one of the keys to the One Centavo series. None of my reference material provides any explanation as to the low extant population. It is difficult to find in any grade and exceptionally difficult to find a reasonably priced example that has graded AU or above. The 1908S, with a slightly lower mintage is relatively plentiful by comparison. Full red mint state examples seem to be non-existent and red-brown examples are exceptionally rare. Certified examples graded MS60 and above are predominately brown and rarely seen.
This particular coin is reasonably well struck. It also exhibits the light horizontal wood grain toning across the top of the obverse that is common to many copper coins produced by the San Francisco mint from 1908 through 1924. It has only two distracting marks: one in the field below the letters "NT" in CENTAVO and a slight discoloration to the left of the anvil. This coin was acquired raw and self submitted to NGC for grading. Needless to say, I was ecstatic about the outcome!
Varieties:
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ALLEN-2.13a - S/S (Horned S) This variety was added in the 2012 7th Edition of the U.S./Philippine Coins by Lyman L. Allen, Updated and Edited by Tom Culhane. This variety is recognized by both NGC and PCGS.
Date acquired: 12/15/2011 (raw)
Date graded: 11/12/2012 (self submitted to NGC)
Rev. 1/19/2023