Set Description
The "Mint Set" for 1904 is the most complete of any year in which U.S. Philippine coins were struck. Every denomination that could be legally minted at each Mint was struck.
The San Francisco mint struck all of the silver coins intended for general circulation, while the Philadelphia mint struck all of the minor coins for general circulation. The Philadelphia mint also struck 10,000 7-coin uncirculated sets ordered by the well known numismatist Farran Zerbe for sale at the Philippine Exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in1904. Supply far exceeded demand for these uncirculated sets, and only 3,254 were sold at the exposition. The remaining 6,746 sets were shipped to the Philippines where another 500 were sold by the Treasury. The 6,246 unsold sets were ultimately released into general circulation. The coins in these additional "non-proof" sets are generally well struck and some even display a proof-like appearance. It is still relatively easy to differentiate between proofs and non-proofs for 1904 issues as the proof coins were struck twice and display more pronounced devices. The fingers of the right hand of the male figure and the hair and toes of the female figure are the best indicators.
Set Goals
A complete 1904 Philadelphia, San Francisco Mint Set for the USA/Philippines series. This set is complete, although upgrades may be made from time to time.
Rev 10/4/2019
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View Coin
| 1904-1/2C |
United States
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1/2C 1904 USA-PHIL ALLEN-1.02
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PCGS MS 65 RD
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Lyman Allen #1.02 (KM #162) - Mintage: 5,654,000
Half Centavos were not popular with the public, and production was discontinued early in 1904. They would never again be produced for general circulation and only extremely small quantities would be minted in proof for inclusion in the proof sets of 1905, 1906, and 1908. In 1908, roughly 40% of all half centavos minted would be shipped to the San Francisco mint to be re-coined into One Centavo pieces.
In addition to the 1,355 regular proof sets minted in 1904, another 10,000 uncirculated sets were ordered by the well known numismatist Farran Zerbe to be sold at the Philippine Exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in1904. Supply far exceeded demand for these uncirculated sets, and only 3,254 were sold at the exposition. The remaining 6,746 sets were shipped to the Philippines where another 500 were sold by the Treasury. The 6,246 unsold sets were ultimately broken up and released into general circulation. I don't know if the half centavos for these 10,000 sets were specially struck or just taken from the mintage intended for general circulation.
Unlike the 1903 Half Centavo, full red examples of the 1904 Half Centavo are extremely rare, As of this revision, NGC has certified only 6 as full red with 17 by PCGS. Only two have been graded higher by PCGS at MS66RD. This coin is one of the finest full red examples known and one of the last Half Centavos minted for general circulation. The dark spots on the obverse are much less distracting in hand than they appear in the image above. It's really quite a nice example.
Date acquired: 7/28/2013 (already graded by PCGS)
Rev. 9/14/2020
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View Coin
| 1904-1C |
United States
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1C 1904 USA-PHIL ALLEN-2.02
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NGC MS 66 RB
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Lyman Allen #2.02 (KM #163) - Mintage: 17,040,000
As in 1903, the 1904 Centavo was only minted in Philadelphia. This production of Centavos in 1904 would be the greatest produced at the Philadelphia mint and would not be surpassed until 1936 by the Manila Mint and again in 1944 and 1945 by the San Francisco Mint. The high mintage makes this a fairly common coin in this series.
Despite the relatively high mintage, only 4 out of the 125 graded by NGC received a full Red designation, so RB coins are generally all that is available.
I was very pleased to notice this coin appear in an online action in Greece, and was able to obtain it for a reasonable price. This high grade RB example exhibits above average striking characteristics, nearly full red surfaces, and minimal surface marks. This coin is one of only two graded MS66RB by NGC with none finer in RB and only one finer at MS66RD.
Varieties: None cataloged for this year.
Date acquired: 9/11/2022 (already graded by NGC)
Date graded: 2/5/2019
Rev. 9/13/2022
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View Coin
| 1904-5C |
United States
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5C 1904 USA-PHIL ALLEN-4.02
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NGC MS 64
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Lyman Allen #4.02 (KM #164) - Mintage: 1,075,000
Only Half Centavo, One Centavo, and Five Centavo coins were struck at the Philadelphia mint in 1904 in quantities intended for general circulation. This is because the comprehensive coinage act of 1873 had restricted the minting of minor coinage solely to the Philadelphia mint. It wouldn't be until April 24, 1906 that Congress would finally pass a bill permitting the production of minor coins at the branch mints. This is generally thought of as the bill which provided for US Cents and Nickels to be minted by branch mints, but it also applied to US/Philippine minor coinage. It took the San Francisco mint until 1908 to gear up for the production of copper cents and One Centavos.
1,355 proof sets were minted in Philadelphia, in 1904 and another 10,000 uncirculated sets were ordered by the well known numismatist Farran Zerbe to be sold at the Philippine Exhibit at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. It is unclear whether the minor coins for these sets were taken form the coins minted for general circulation, or whether another 10,000 were struck specifically for these sets. In either case the supply of sets far exceeded demand, and only 3,254 were sold at the exposition. The remaining 6,746 sets were shipped to the Philippines where another 500 were sold by the Treasury. The 6,246 unsold sets were ultimately broken up and released into general circulation.
This coin is very well struck and is virtually mark free on both obverse and reverse. Fresh dies were obviously used to strike this coin, as there is no sign of die erosion between the denticles and the lettering on both sides, the rims are square, the denticles are sharp and uniform, the stars below the eagle are strong and even, and the hair, fingers on the right hand and toes of the right foot are all sharp and very well defined. Based on the strike, I strongly suspect it came from one of these 10,000 sets. There is some streaky toning, but I can't see any other reason that it did not obtain a higher grade.
Varieties: none reported for this date.
References:
- Shafer, N. "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands." Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1961.
- Coin World, May 12, 2008, Volume 49, Issue 2509, page 92. (http://editions.amospublishing.com/WDCN/default.aspx?d=20080512)
Date acquired: 2/5/2013 (raw coin)
Date graded: 8/7/2013 (self submitted to NGC)
Rev. 11/22/2015
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View Coin
| 1904-10C |
United States
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10C 1904 USA-PHIL ALLEN-7.03
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NGC MS 66
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Lyman Allen #7.03 (KM #165) - Mintage: 10,000 (estimated survival 5,042)
General
Ten Centavo coins were not minted for general circulation by the Philadelphia mint in 1904, but 10,000 uncirculated seven coin sets were ordered by the well known numismatist Farran Zerbe to be sold at the Philippine Exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in1904. Supply far exceeded demand for these uncirculated sets, and only 3,254 were sold at the exposition. The remaining 6,746 sets were shipped to the Philippines where another 500 were sold by the Treasury. The 6,246 unsold sets were ultimately broken up and released into general circulation. The mintage for this coin is the smallest in the series, save for the five Proof coins, however their survival in uncirculated grades is quite high due to their having been released in a special set. The U.S. mint even acknowledged their special nature by identifying them as "proof" coins. Their relative survival calculation is also different than others in the set, coming in at just slightly over 50%
This coin
This particular coin is a lightly toned example of this rare date and given the high state of preservation, it was most likely part of one of the sets that was purchased by a collector. Also, given the toning, it was probably stored in the original packaging for a long period of time. It looked really nice as a raw coin, so I was expecting it to grade well, but I was quite pleased when it received a grade of MS66.
Varieties
None cataloged for this year.
Date acquired: 8/4/2019 (Raw coin)
Date graded: 9/24/2019 (Self submitted to NGC)
References
- Shafer, N. "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands." Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1961.
Rev. 11/3/2019
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View Coin
| 1904-20C |
United States
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20C 1904 USA-PHIL ALLEN-10.03
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PCGS MS 63
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Lyman Allen #10.03 (KM #166) - Mintage 10,000 (estimated survival 5,042 coins)
General
Twenty Centavo coins were not minted for general circulation by the Philadelphia mint in 1904, but 10,000 uncirculated seven coin sets were ordered by the well known numismatist Farran Zerbe to be sold at the Philippine Exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in1904. Supply far exceeded demand for these uncirculated sets, and only 3,254 were sold at the exposition. The remaining 6,746 sets were shipped to the Philippines where another 500 were sold by the Treasury. The 6,246 unsold sets were ultimately broken up and released into general circulation. The mintage for this coin is the smallest in the series, save for the five Proof coins, however their survival in uncirculated grades is quite high due to their having been released in a special set. The U.S. mint even acknowledged their special nature by identifying them as "proof" coins. Their relative survival calculation is also different than others in the set, coming in at just slightly over 50%
The survival rate for the these coins is amazingly high compared to the rest of the early U.S. Philippine silver coins primarily because they were intended for sale directly to collectors. Consequently, it is one of the easier 20 centavos to obtain in high mint state.
This coin
This coin is a lightly toned, reasonably well preserved example of this rare date..
Varieties
None cataloged for this year.
Date acquired: 11/7/2012 (already graded by PCGS)
References
- Shafer, N. "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands." Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1961.
Rev 12/15/2020
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View Coin
| 1904-50C |
United States
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50C 1904 USA-PHIL ALLEN-13.02
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NGC MS 63
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Lyman Allen #13.02 (KM #167) - Mintage: 10,000
Date acquired: 1/26/2013 (already graded by NGC)
Rev. 11/26/2015
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View Coin
| 1904-Peso |
United States
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PESO 1904 USA-PHIL ALLEN-16.03
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NGC MS 62
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Lyman Allen #16.03 (KM #168) - Mintage: 10,000
The mintage may seem low, but these coins are relatively common in mint state. 10,000 uncirculated sets were ordered by the well known numismatist Farran Zerbe to be sold at the Philippine Exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in1904. Supply far exceeded demand for these sets, and only 3,254 were sold at the exposition. The remaining 6,746 sets were shipped to the Philippines where another 500 were sold by the Treasury. The 6,246 unsold sets were ultimately released into general circulation.
This piece is very well struck and has reasonably good eye appeal, but a few too many contact marks must have kept if from garnering a higher grade.
Date acquired: 12/31/2004 (raw coin)
Date graded: 12/01/2007 (self submitted to NGC)
Rev. 11/26/2015
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View Coin
| 1904S-10C |
United States
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10C 1904 S USA-PHIL ALLEN-7.04
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NGC MS 64
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Lyman Allen #7.04 (KM #169) - Mintage: 5,040,000 (maximum surviving 1,038,400)
General
Total Mintage: ............................ 5,040,000
Reserved for Assay: ..........................2,521
Estimated Recoined: ................3,999,079
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Maximum possible surviving ...1,038,400 (20.6% of total minted)
In 1904, the San Francisco mint had effectively taken over the production of all circulating silver coinage for the Philippine Islands. By law, the base metal coinage could not be produced at the U.S. branch mints so the bronze half centavos, centavos, and five centavos still had to be struck in Philadelphia until the law was revised in 1906. Uncirculated 1904-S 10 centavo specimens are still relatively plentiful even though the 10 and 20 Centavos coins were readily accepted by the Filipino population and consequently circulated well. Treasury records for 1903 and 1904 do not indicate how many 10 centavo coins were retained by the treasury, however the 1905 records indicate that roughly 18% of all 10 centavos that had been struck for circulation remained in the treasury vaults. These were most likely among the first to be sent back to San Francisco in 1906 for recoinage. It is possible that these coins were hoarded since no 10 centavo coins were minted for circulation in 1905 and silver prices were rising in1904 and 1905 to the point where the bullion value of the 10 centavo coin exceeded its face value in November of 1905. Some melting and export of 10 centavo coins may have taken place by the general public, but based on government figures, the number would not have been significant.
This Coin
This particular coin is reasonably well struck on the obverse and very well struck on the reverse. It is apparent though that the reverse die was coming to the end of its life by the die cracks that can be seen running from the D in UNITED to the tip of the eagles wing and through the letters TE in STATES, The coin exhibits light peripheral toning and has good eye appeal.
Varieties
ALLEN-7.04a - 1904-S/S - The original S was punched slightly to the left of the second dominant S.
Date acquired: 2/27/2008 (raw coin)
Date graded: 8/7/2013 (self submitted to NGC)
References
- Shafer, N. "United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands." Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1961.
Rev. 10/28/2019
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View Coin
| 1904S-20C |
United States
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20C 1904 S USA-PHIL ALLEN-10.04
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NGC MS 63
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Lyman Allen #10.04 (KM #166) - Mintage: 2,060,000
A nice white coin with good mint frost.
Date acquired: 1/18/2008 (Already graded by NGC, reholderd in edge view holder due to cracked slab)
Rev. 12/06/2015
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View Coin
| 1904S-50C |
United States
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50C 1904 S USA-PHIL ALLEN-13.03
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NGC MS 61
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Lyman Allen #13.03 (KM #167) - Mintage: 2,160,000
By the end of World War II, nearly 96% of all of the Fifty Centavos produced for circulation from 1903, 1904, and 1905 had been melted by the Philippine government and recoined into the reduced size and weight silver coinage that began in 1907. Given the initial mintage of 2.16 million and a survival rate of roughly 4.5% , the number remaining available to collectors would be under 100,000! These coins were relatively well accepted by Filipinos when they were released and by the end of 1905, over 88% of all of the fifty centavo coins minted had entered circulation.
But wait, that's not all! Silver prices spiked in 1906, and the government estimated that roughly one million pesos worth of silver coinage was hoarded and melted by the general population because the coins were worth more as bullion than their face value. Applying that additional information, drops the reaming population in half! It is quite likely then that only 50,000 1904 S fifty centavo coins remain in existence for collectors. The great silver melts of the last half of the 20th century may have reduced that even more. The uncirculated coins that remained in the treasury were the first to be melted, so the only source of uncirculated specimens is those that were put away by individuals at the time they were released. The point of this rather long winded explanation is that finding a nice uncirculated 1904-S fifty centavo coin is a seriously difficult task. There just aren't that many left and the ones that are left tend to be circulated..
This particular specimen looks better in hand that these pictures make it appear. It is not the prettiest of specimens, but it is uncirculated. I've been looking for one for many years, so I bought it when I saw it.
Varieties: None reported.
Date acquired: 7/19/2018 (Already graded by NGC)
Rev. 7/19/2018
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View Coin
| 1904S-Peso |
United States
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PESO 1904 S USA-PHIL ALLEN-16.04
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PCGS MS 63
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Lyman Allen #16.04 (KM #168) - Mintage: 6,600,000
Total Mintage: ............................ 6,600,000
Reserved for Assay: ..........................3,301
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Net available for circulation: ....... 6,596,699
Estimated Recoined: .................. 6,242,626
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Maximum possible surviving ......... 357,195
Estimated Privately Melted: ............ 25,000
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Estimated Surviving: ...................... 332,195 (5% of total minted)
In 1906, the price of silver had risen so significantly that the bullion value of the U.S. Philippine Peso exceeded the face value of One Peso. The weight, silver content, and size of all of the silver coin denominations were reduced by law and a massive recoining effort began in 1907. All of the silver coins held in the Philippine Treasury vaults were shipped back to San Francisco for melting and recoining into the new smaller, lower silver content coins. Over the next 6 years, the bulk of the higher silver content coins were removed from circulation and sent to San Francisco for recoining. These coins were still being removed from circulation even into the 1930, although the numbers were relatively small. The calculations below are based on the totals of all 1903-1905 pesos that were melted and recoined and are, at best, an estimate. Of all of the 6.6 million 1904-S pesos struck, it is estimated that only approximately 5% may still exist today.
This particular coin is a beautifully preserved specimen of the very desirable Philippine peso
Date acquired: 1/20/2013 (already graded by PCGS)
Rev. 3/15/2023
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