Owner Comments:
This coin, minted in San Francisco, is the also the first in the series of United States-Philippines (USPI) peso coins, and was placed into circulation on 23 July 1903.
Having initially met unexpected resistance from Chinese merchants who preferred the Mexican Peso over the Philippine Peso, the unwillingness to adopt the new currency and its value resulted in the new Peso being accepted as merely equivalent to the old Mexican Peso. In other words, “the old money, which was less valuable in terms of gold, had the same purchasing power as the new” (Wolters, 2001, p. 532). To remedy the problem, the American government in the Philippines banned the import of Mexican dollars and any other foreign currency into the Philippines on October 1903 (Wolters, p. 533). Did this directive solve the problem? Find out in the comments section of my 1904-S Peso.
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This coin, although not evident in the image, is practically blast white. It has nice cartwheel luster and some lightly scattered marks. It has three dark toned spots on the periphery (trivial to me), from where I would guess it was once upon a time mounted. Overall, I find this coin rather choice and attractive.
⚙️ Coin Specifications and Information
Composition: Silver
Fineness: 0.9000
Weight: 26.9500g
ASW: 0.7800oz
Diameter: 38mm
Edge: Reeded
Alignment: ⬆️ ⬇️
Mintage: 11,361,000
KM# 168
📆 This Year In Philippine History
On May 1, 1903, the first Labor Day celebration in the Philippines took place. It was organized by the Union Obrera Democratica de Filipinas, the first labor federation in the country. Thousands of workers marched from Plaza Moriones in Tondo to Malacañang to demand complete independence, while chanting anti American capitalism and imperialism.
The Union Obrero Democratica de Filipinas formerly known as the Union Obrera Democratica was founded on February 2, 1902 by Isabelo delos Reyes and Herminigildo Cruz. It advocated the rights of the labor force during the American occupation of the Philippines. Delos Reyes who was arrested on August 1902 for sedition, rebellion and "conspiracy to the raise the price of labor" was succeeded by Dominador Gomez. It was Gomez who led the first Labor Day celebration.
Later on April 8, 1908, the Philippine Assembly passed a bill making the first day of May Labor Day, a national holiday.
Today, Labor Day (or Araw ng Manggagawa) in the Philippines is commemorated not only with parades and other forms of celebration, but also with rallies and demonstrations of the labor sector.
The celebration highlights the reality that the country's workers have proven to be partners of government for economic development and positive social changes.
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📖 Information sources:
Wolters, W. G. (2001). Flooded with foreign coins. Spanish and American administrators dealing with currency. Problems in the Philippines, 1890-1905, Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, 157(3), 511-538. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-90003800
Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. For more information see
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
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-168-1903-1906-cuid-1085604-duid-1519450
Numista Coin Catalog. Coins from Philippines. Retrieved 21:24, September 5, 2021, from https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4349.html
Today in Philippine History, May 1, 1903, the first Labor Day in the Philippines took place. Retrieved 10:25, August 8, 2021, from https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/1103/today-in-philippine-history-may-1-1903-the-first-labor-day-in-the-philippines-took-place