Owner Comments:
Lyman Allen #8.15 (KM #169) - Mintage: 520,000
General
Although the legislation signed by President Theodore Roosevelt on July 1, 1902 provided that "coins should be struck in Manila if practicable," it would be another 18 years before it actually happened. In 1917, a high demand for coinage due to World War I, and rising silver prices caused a severe shortage of circulating coins. Economic commerce was impacted and the Philippine legislature decided it was time for a mint on Philippine soil. Act No. 2738, signed into law by Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison on February 16, 1918 appropriated the initial 100,000 pesos to begin construction of the Mint in Manila.
The "new" Philippine Mint was not to be housed in a new building. Instead, it occupied the first floor of the old Intendencia Building which it shared with the Philippine Treasury, Senate, and other government offices. Clifford Hewitt, the chief engineer of the U.S. Mint, designed and supervised the construction of the machinery. Hewett wanted to incorporate the latest minting technology and had the machinery assembled and tested at the Philadelphia Mint in June 1919. It was then shipped through the Panama Canal and arrived in Manila in November 1919. Over the next 7 months, Hewett supervised the installation of the equipment and the preparation of the mint for opening in 1920.
The first official coinage at the Philippine Mint took place in ceremonies on the morning of Thursday, July 15, 1920. Under the direction of Clifford Hewett, Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison coined the first bronze centavo.
It is ironic that the very month the new Philippine mint opened in 1920, the economic boom fueled by World War I had ended, the Philippines was in the midst of a serious financial crisis, and the price of silver had fallen below the par value of the coinage. The immediate need for the mint would pass very quickly.
This Coin
Although there is no mint mark, this is one of the first silver coins minted at the new Philippine Mint in Manila. As of this revision, this particular coin is one of only 6 to be graded MS64 by NGC with none finer.
Varieties
None reported for this date.
Date acquired: 6/19/2014 (raw coin)
Date graded: 9/12/2014 (self submitted to NGC)
Date regraded: 12/28/2014 (resubmitted to NGC)
References
- DeLorey, T. "THE U.S. MINT Of The Philippines," COINage, January 1997, pp. 72-78.
- Perez, G.S. "The Mint in the Philippine Islands," Numismatic Notes and Monographs (1921), Number 8.
- von Klinger, E. "America's overseas Mint" - Coin World, November 29.2004, pp 120.
Rev. 11/4/2019