Owner Comments:
Lyman Allen #3.06 (KM #179) - Official Mintage: 58,000,000 - Mint records indicate an additional mintage of 78,485,798 centavos in 1945, but there is no indication that they were dated 1945. No centavos dated 1945 have ever been reported and there is no indication that the centavos minted in 1945 were destroyed. Taking into account their extraordinary availability, it is most likely that these centavos were actually dated 1944. That would bring the total mintage for 1944-S centavos to 136,485,798.
The Manila Mint sustained heavy damage on December 7, 1941 from Japanese aerial bombardment and additional damage in 1945 during the Battle of Manila which liberated the city. During the Japanese occupation, much of the coinage was seized and melted. In preparation for the liberation of the islands, the Treasury department ordered the Mint to strike all denominations from the one centavo through 50 centavos. While all three active mints were utilized for the task, the one centavo coins were only struck in San Francisco. This is the only Commonwealth reverse One Centavo to be produced in San Francisco, yet, with over 136 million minted, this one date figure comes close to the entire one centavo production of the Manila mint!
Another unique aspect of this centavo is the change in its metallic composition exclusive to this year. Due to the war, this centavo was made without tin. Instead, it is composed of 95% copper and 5% zinc.
Given the quantity minted, all levels of strike quality can be found. Many however can be found with a near perfect strike, including the word "of" in the scroll just above the date. As one might expect with a mintage this high, red gem pieces are relatively easy to obtain. This particular coin is an exceptionally well struck cherry red example of this otherwise very common date.
A common side effect of high mintage is often a significant number of identifiable varieties and the 1944-S Centavo is no exception. There are at least 4 well known varieties for this date detailed below.
Varieties
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ALLEN-3.06 - Normal date and mint mark.
ALLEN-3.06a - Doubled Die Reverse #1. The word "STATES" is noticeably doubled. This variety is not recognized by either PCGS or NGC.
ALLEN-3.06aa - Doubled Die Reverse #2. There is doubling of the letters "IPPINES" in the scroll as well as of the scroll itself. The letters "AMERICA" (most noticeably the "M" and "C") are also doubled. This variety is not recognized by either PCGS or NGC.
ALLEN-3.06b - Base of last 4 missing at left side. This variety is not recognized by either PCGS or NGC.
Uncataloged. - Triple punched last 4 in date. This variety is relatively well known, but has not been identified in the Allen catalog. It is not recognized by any of the major grading services. I have several of these and they are quite easy to recognize.
Date acquired: 7/08/2007 (already graded by NGC)
References:
- Shafer, N. "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands." Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1961.
Rev. 1/2/2016