Owner Comments:
Mintage of this year's Peso saw a 64% decrease from the previous year as perhaps there were too many in circulation and not enough demand for them. In fact, from 1907 up to 1912, "some millions of these Peso pieces were stored as a reserve backing for the Silver Certificates (and later Treasury Certificates) in circulation" (Shafer, 1961, p.31).
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This coin is untoned, fully brilliant and silver-white, with cartwheel luster blasting across the surfaces. Fields display a few grade-consistent abrasions, but overall, this one is easily an appealing example of the 1909 issue.
⚙️ Coin Specifications and Information
Composition: Silver
Fineness: 0.8000
Weight: 20.0000g
ASW: 0.5144oz
Diameter: 35mm
Edge: Reeded
Alignment: ⬆️ ⬇️
Mintage: 7,578,000
KM# 172
📆 This Year in Philippine History
On September 1, 1909, Baguio, then a municipality of Benguet province in Northern Luzon, was declared a chartered city by virtue of Act No. 1963. Then Governor General William Cameron Forbes directed Justice George Malcolm, a young lawyer in the American-led Philippine government, to write the city's charter.
The name of the city is derived from the word "bagiw" in Ibaloi, the indigenous language of the Benguet Region meaning "moss."
The second Philippine Commission, led by William Howard Taft, which arrived in Manila in June 1900, had one express order from then American Secretary of War Elihu Root to search for a cool place in Northern Luzon, high in the ranges of the Cordilleras, and lay out plans for its development. At that time, the Americans were mostly quartered and sweltering in heat in Manila. They thus began to explore for cooler venues where their government administrative machineries could be installed as well as for health reasons.
Climbing way up Northern Luzon and moving on further, the members of the five-man Taft Commission, including Luke Wright, were rewarded with the discovery of fresh pine growths among rolling beautiful hills, and Baguio was found. Thus, a development plan was laid out by the Taft Commission and roads were built, followed by a survey for a railroad to Baguio. The Commission assigned Major Lyman Kennon to supervise the building of the road cut through rock cliffs to open a route to Baguio, which was later named after him.
In 1903, the Americans declared Baguio the Summer Capital of the Philippines and as the residence of the American governor-general to escape Manila's summer heat. Baguio was developed further by the Americans by building parks and public structures such as the Wright Park in honor of Governor General Luke E. Wright, and the Burnham Park in honor of Baguio city planner Daniel Burnham.
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📖 Information sources:
Shafer, N. (1961). United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands. Whitman Publishing Company.
Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 2). Sheldon coin grading scale. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:30, September 5, 2021, 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 21:27, September 5, 2021, from https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/philippines-peso-km-172-1907-1912-cuid-1112357-duid-1518523
Numista Coin Catalog. Coins from Philippines. Retrieved 21:24, September 5, 2021, from https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4349.html
Today in Philippine History, September 1, 1909, Baguio was declared a chartered city. Retrieved 9:37, August 12, 2021, https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/560/today-in-philippine-history-september-1-1909-baguio-was-declared-a-chartered-city