Owner Comments:
Lyman Allen #15.01b (KM #183) - OBVERSE OF 1907-1921 - Mintage: 19,187,000 (Variety Mintage Unknown)
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 US mints were utilized for the task, the 50 centavo coins were only struck in San Francisco. The 1944S and 1945S 50 Centavo coins are the only Commonwealth reverse 50 Centavos produced with the exception of 20,000 commemorative 50 Centavos produced by the Manila mint in 1936 .
These coins are not at all rare in grades up through MS65, but are quite rare at MS66 and above. As of this revision, a total of 124 have been graded by NGC. 17 have been awarded MS66 with only 3 higher at MS67. PCGS has graded a total of 112 with 12 as MS66 and 3 as MS67. This is quite different than the 1945S where a total of 152 have been graded by NGC with MS66 as the most common grade with a population of 49. The MS67 population is 25, which means it is much easier to obtain an NGC MS67 1945S than it is to obtain an MS66 1944S!
A common side effect of high mintage is often a significant number of identifiable varieties and the 1944S 50 Centavos is no exception. There are only two documented ALLEN varieties for this date which are detailed below. There are however quite a few more that are undocumented.
Varieties
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ALLEN-15.01 - Normal date and mint mark.
ALLEN-15.01a - S/S doubled mint mark.
ALLEN-15.01b - Type-I obverse (style of 1907-1921)
A few years ago, I acquired several 1944S US/Philippines 50 Centavo pieces that have a slightly different obverse (figure side) than normal. I wish I could claim to have discovered this difference myself, but they were actually listed on eBay by a dealer in the Philippines as having the "Reverse of 1921" (actually the figure side). This obverse is most easily identified by the shape and lines of the Mt. Mayon volcano. The earlier volcano has very prominent lines spreading down the slope from the summit to the base and is flat or slightly concave. The later volcano lacks definition, has no lines, and is a bit convex in shape. The latter is the most common variety. The early style obverse appears only on coins dated 1944 and has never been seen on those dated 1945.
This coin is a two year type since 1944 is the first year that the common (i.e. non-commemorative) obverse was paired with the Commonwealth reverse. As is common with many first year issue coins, there were issues that caused the designs on both sides of the coin to be poorly struck. I suspect that during the first week or so of production at the San Francisco mint, these problems became apparent and a request was made to the engravers in Philadelphia to modify the design so that it would be more fully struck.
As of September 30, 2015, NGC now officially recognizes this variety as part of the VarietyPlus program and this particular coin is the first one (and until March 3, 2016, the only one) to be so designated. The high resolution images appearing on the
VarietyPlus page are of my coin.
In addition to actual die varieties, there are an amazing number of varieties stemming from damaged dies. The dies used to produce these coins were utilized long past their normal service life. Signs of die erosion and broken dies are quite common. Die breaks occur in and above the letters in the word FILIPINAS, and above the 9 in the date. The letter "S" in FILIPINAS can be filled in the upper or lower portion, and it is not uncommon to see both filled in.
This Coin
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This coin is the "OBVERSE OF 1907-1921" variety with none of the common die breaks found in the word FILIPINAS, and no bar over the 9 in the date. It is reasonably well struck for this variety and reasonably well preserved. There is some minor discoloration, but the fields are reasonably clean with only minor contact marks on the devices. Although this variety has been recognized by collectors for quite some time, this is the first one to be attributed on the label by either PCGS or NGC. You will find no other with this style (aka vintage) of NGC label.
Date acquired: 11/13/2011 (raw coin)
Date graded: 9/12/2014 (self submitted to NGC, variety not recognized despite an indication that it would be)
Date attributed: 9/30/2015 (resubmitted to NGC for variety attribution)
References:
- Shafer, N. "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands." Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1961.
Rev. 10/15/2020