Owner Comments:
The Five Centavos of 1937 through 1945 continued the same obverse design used on the 1903 through 1935 Five Centavos. The reverse used the Commonwealth Arms design which was common to the 1936 commemoratives and all Philippine coins from 1937 through 1945.
In 1937 the reverse design of all US/Philippine coins were changed to reflect the new status for the Philippines as a Commonwealth of the United States. A smaller eagle was used, now perched atop a smaller shield with a banner below it inscribed "Commonwealth of the Philippines." The shield used was an adaptation of a design used for the official seal of "The Government of the Philippine Islands" which appeared on Philippine paper money starting in 1905.
Five Centavos were made at the Manila Mint in 1937, 1938 and 1941; at the Philadelphia Mint in 1944; and the San Francisco Mint in 1944 and 1945. Pre-war coins struck at the Manila Mint have the same size weight and composition as the 1930 through 1935 Five Centavos (Copper-Nickel, 75.16 Grains, 4.80 Grams,19 mm). During World War ll copper and nickel were strategic metals needed for the war effort. This resulted in the adoption of a copper-nickel-zink alloy for the 1944 and 1945 Five Centavos. The new alloy was 65% copper, 23% zink, and 12% nickel. The 1944 and 1945 Five Centavos had a weight of 4.92 Grams.
The 1941 M Five Centavos had a mintage of 2,750,000. The NGC population for this coin in MS64 is six coins with only one specimen graded higher. The combined NGC/PCGS certified population for the 1941 M Five Centavos in MS64 is 18 coins with only 7 specimens graded higher (12/01/2013).