Owner Comments:
This coin commemorates the 25th Anniversary of Bataan Day, or "Araw ng Kagitingan" (Filipino for Day of Valor) as the event is now called in the Philippines. The day is observed every year on April 9th in honor of the day Bataan province fell to the Japanese in 1942, and also to commemorate the the Fall of Corregidor Island (6 May 1942).
The coin's obverse features a broken flaming sword from the coat of arms of Bataan province, signifying the Battle of Bataan (7 January – 9 April 1942). The Sampaguita wreath immortalizes the sword and symbolically, the fallen heroes of Bataan.
The reverse inscription on top is the issuing country (Republic of the Philippines), and the coin’s denomination (One Peso) at the bottom. Prominently displayed on the center is the country’s then-coat of arms.
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This coin comes in a proof-like finish and was minted at the San Francisco mint. It is an excellent Premium Gem example in my opinion. The strike is sharp and the fields shine with glasslike reflectivity. Both sides have fully brilliant silver surfaces, enhancing the coin’s overall quality and aesthetic appeal. There are no major marks or abrasions seen—just a few tiny ticks on the devices. I obtained the coin raw and has it slabbed, pleased with the results. It was Top Pop at the time (even with a dozen others). As of this writing there are over two dozen sharing its grade, and a handful that have surpassed it.
⚙️ Coin Specifications and Information
Composition: Silver
Fineness: 0.9000
Weight: 26.0000g
ASW: 0.7653oz
Diameter: 38.1mm
Edge: Reeded
Alignment: ⬆️ ⬇️
Mintage: 100,000
KM# 195
📆 The Bataan and Corregidor Battles: Brief Histories
The Battle of Bataan (7 January – 9 April 1942) was a battle fought by the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth against Japan during World War II. The battle represented the most intense phase of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II. In January 1942, forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy invaded Luzon along with several islands in the Philippine Archipelago after the bombing of the American naval base at Pearl Harbor.
The Commander-In-Chief of all U.S. and Filipino forces in the islands, General Douglas MacArthur, consolidated all of his Luzon-based units on the Bataan Peninsula to fight against the Japanese army. By this time, the Japanese controlled nearly all of Southeast Asia. The Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor were the only remaining Allied strongholds in the region.
Despite a lack of supplies, American and Filipino forces managed to fight the Japanese for three months, engaging them initially in a fighting retreat southward. As the combined American and Filipino forces made a last stand, the delay cost the Japanese valuable time and prevented immediate victory across the Pacific. The American surrender at Bataan to the Japanese, with 76,000 soldiers surrendering in the Philippines altogether, was the largest in American and Filipino military histories, and was the largest United States surrender since the American Civil War's Battle of Harper's Ferry. Soon afterwards, U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war were forced into the Bataan Death March.
The fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942, ended all organized opposition by the U.S. Army Forces Far East to the invading Japanese forces on Luzon, in the northern Philippines. The island bastion of Corregidor, with its network of tunnels and formidable array of defensive armament, along with the fortifications across the entrance to Manila Bay, was the remaining obstacle to the 14th Japanese Imperial Army of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma. Homma had to take Corregidor, since as long as the island remained in American hands, the Japanese would be denied the use of Manila Bay, the finest natural harbor in the Far East.
The U.S. Army recaptured the island in 1945.
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📖 Information sources:
Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 2). Sheldon coin grading scale. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:30, November 25, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sheldon_coin_grading_scale&oldid=960391269
NGC, World Coin Price Guide, Philippines Coin Price Guide (Powered by NumisMaster), Retrieved 14:48, November 30, 2020, from https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/philippines-peso-km-195-1967-cuid-1084213-duid-1538024
Numista Coin Catalog. Coins from Philippines. Retrieved 14:50, November 30, 2020, from https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces18100.html
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, October 14). Battle of Bataan. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:29, December 1, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Bataan&oldid=921171774
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, October 12). Battle of Corregidor. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:32, December 1, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Corregidor&oldid=920807562