Owner Comments:
Lyman Allen #2.13a (KM #163) - 1915 S/S (RPM) Mintage: 2,500,000 (Variety Mintage Unknown)
Given the mintage, it is unclear why the 1915-S 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. It addition to the general rarity of this issue, this particular coin carries a double "S" mint mark making even more rare.
This particular coin is an excellent example of the very rare S/S variety for this date. Even though it is not uncirculated, it is a very attractive coin. It exhibits a good strike, light overall even wear, very even brown toning with hints of luster underneath, and no distracting marks or scratches. This specific coin is both the plate coin for the NGC Variety Plus web page and the for the 1915-S One Centavo web page in the NGC Coin Explorer.
Varieties:
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ALLEN-2.13a - S/S (This Coin) 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: 5/16/2011 (already graded by PCGS)
Date graded: 1/14/2013 (crossed to NGC)
Date attributed: 9/28/2016 (resubmitted to NGC)
Rev. 1/19/2023