Owner Comments:
1944-S U.S. PHILIPPINES ONE CENTAVO
PCGS MS65RD
PCGS Certification #48085557
SPECIFICATIONS
Category: Philippines Under U.S. Sovereignty
Mint: San Francisco
Mint Mark: S
Mintage: 58,000,000 (All Varieties)
Obverse Designer: Melicio Figueroa
Reverse Designer: Ambrosio Morales
Composition: Brass (95% copper and 5% zinc)
Weight: 5.3 grams
Diameter: 24mm
Edge: Plain
Variety: Base of the last 4 missing at the left side
Catalog Number: Allen 3.06b
Holder: PCGS Gold Shield (Protected by NFC anti-counterfeiting technology)
The 1944 One Centavo uses the same obverse and reverse designs as the pre-war One Centavo but has a different wartime composition.
The pre-war One Centavo was struck in a bronze alloy of 95% copper, and 5% zinc and tin. Both copper and tin were important strategic materials during wartime. To conserve tin, the wartime composition of the One Centavo was changed to a brass alloy of 95% copper and 5% zinc. This is the same alloy the mint used to produce U.S. wartime pennies dated 1944-1946. The mint produced this alloy by combining ingots of pure copper with salvaged 70% copper shell casings.
During the World War II Japanese occupation of the Philippines the Japanese confiscated coins held by banks and in circulation, melted them down and shipped them back to Japan to be used in their war effort. The few pre-war coins that escaped the melting pots were hoarded and hid away until after the war. With coins absent from circulation most daily commerce was conducted with low denomination paper currency (Emergency or Guerilla Currency) printed by Guerrilla military units, local municipalities, or Military and Civilian Currency Boards authorized by General MacArthur or the Commonwealth government-in-exile under President Quezon.
During the Japanese occupation there was a very active resistance movement in the Philippines, and allied intelligence was very much aware, of the economic situation in the islands, and the need to bring new coins and currency with them when they liberated the Philippines.
In preparation for General MacArthur’s return to the Philippines, the Treasury Department ordered the San Francisco Mint to strike millions of One Centavo coins. When American forces liberated the Philippines in 1944 - 1945 they brought with them Fifty-Eight Million 1944-S One Centavo coins.
This boldly struck FULL RED GEM is a die variety with the base of the last 4 missing at the left side (Allen number 3.06b).
PCGS Population (All Varieties) 152/229 (02/03/2024)
NGC Population (All Varieties): 59/59 (02/03/2024)
Purchased in Great Collections January 28, 2024, Online Auction, Lot # 1497902.
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