Owner Comments:
This is the second business strike peso coin of the Republic. It was designed by Frank Gasparro, the U.S. Mint's then-Chief Coin Designer and Engraver. His initials are on the neck of the bust on the obverse. This coin was minted at the U.S. Mint's Denver and San Francisco facilities.
The obverse features the bust of Dr. Jose Rizal, a Filipino nationalist during the tail end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines. It also has the coin’s denomination, “Piso.”
The reverse bears Country’s name, the mintage year, and the issuing bank. It also has the country’s coat of arms, which feature the eight-rayed sun of the Philippines with each ray representing the eight provinces which were placed under martial law during the Philippine Revolution (1896-1898.) The three five-pointed stars represent the country's primary geographic regions (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.) On the dexter (left) side of the shield is the North American bald eagle of the United States, its left talon grasping an olive branch and the right talon grasping three spears, denoting peace and war. On the sinister (right) side is the lion rampant of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of León (part of a united Spain from 1479). Both the eagle and the lion represent the country's colonial past. Beneath the shield is a scroll with the inscription in Filipno, "Republika Ng Pilipinas."
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This coin shows an attractive high quality of luster and strike. For me it is a stunning piece boasting glossy surfaces that radiate an opulence of light golden tone. It has a few scattered contact marks commensurate with the grade, but overall, the quality is above average and eye appeal is very pleasing. I acquired this coin already slabbed and as of this writing, it is the first of its kind to be NGC-certified at this grade, and is the only one in this top grade with none graded finer: Top Pop (1/0).
⚙️ Coin Specifications and Information
Composition: Copper-Nickel-Zinc
Weight: 15.0000g
Diameter: 33mm
Edge: Reeded
Alignment: ⬆️ ⬇️
Mintage: 65,002,178*
KM# 203
* 9,127,000 struck at the Denver Mint;10,244,000 struck at the San Francisco Mint; 10,873,178 struck at the Denver Mint in 1975 (but dated 1974); 34,758,000 struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1975 (but dated 1974).
📆 This Year in Philippine History
On June 27, 1974, Filipino Chess Master Eugene Torre became Asia's first grandmaster by drawing with American Grandmaster Robert Byrne at the 21st Chess Olympiad in Nice, France.
Torre, in a tournament in Manila in 1976, was then the only one to beat the then-reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov in a game that has become part of Filipino chess history. In 1982 he gained a spot in the World Chess Championship candidates matches, where he lost to Zoltán Ribli.
Torre was a friend of Bobby Fischer. He worked on Fischer's team in the 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia. Much later, Torre conducted interviews with Fischer on Filipino radio dzRH MBC Sports Center. Those interviews gained notoriety for Fischer and despair for his fans as he believed he would be killed in the United States after being deported from Japan.
Born on November 4, 1951 in Iloilo City, Torre is considered the best chess player the Philippines ever produced.
The former Business Administration undergraduate from Mapua Institute of Technology also has the distinction of being the first Asian player to earn the much-coveted title of International Grandmaster.
Torre was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2021.
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📖 Information sources:
Wikipedia contributors. (2021, November 26). José Rizal. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:29, November 30, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jos%C3%A9_Rizal&oldid=1057246053
Wikipedia contributors. (2022, July 15). Sheldon coin grading scale. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:19, October 9, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sheldon_coin_grading_scale&oldid=1098379145
NGC, World Coin Price Guide, Philippines Coin Price Guide (Powered by NumisMaster), Retrieved 10:05, November 30, 2020, from https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/philippines-piso-km-203-1972-1974-cuid-1112364-duid-1519618
Numista Coin Catalog. Coins from Philippines. Retrieved 10:15, November 30, 2021, from https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3749.html
1 Piso Pilipino Series Coin. Numismatics Philippines. Retrieved 19:14, October 9, 2022, from https://www.numismatics.ph/coins/pilipino-series/1-piso.html
Today in Philippine History, June 27, 1974. Retrieved 22:35, October 8, 2022, from https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1205/today-in-philippine-history-june-27-1974-filipino-chess-master-eugene-torre-became-asias-first-grandmaster