US-Philippines Coin Collectors

Who on this board collects US-Philippines 1903-1945 as their personnal collection?

 

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I collect US-Philippine paper and coins. jhinton is the resident expert though.

 

I have some Japanese occupation phillipino paper money that my grandpa brought back from ww2

 

I have more than a Type collection of USPI but not a full collection. Here is my 1904 5 Centavo:

 

1909s 50 centavos


1945d 20 centavos

 

Beautiful Coins! Always a pleasure to meet other collectors of a beautiful and highly underrated series!

1904 Peso, PCGS MS62

1915-S Twenty Centavos PCGS AU55

 

While I appreciate the compliment, I am by no means an expert. The true greats in the field of US philippin numismatics ( Neil Shafer, Lyman Allen, and Aldo Basso) would no doubt consider me an amateur. I would recommend anyone interested in this series to obtain their books.

 

Why is this series underrated? Is it because collectors are not interested or because it is hard to find?
From your experience collecting this series, which dates are the hardest to find besides the 1906s peso?

 

If you are into US-Philippine era coins or paper money get on Ray Czahor's mailing list for his mailbids. Also look for the Philippine Collector Forums which are held at the major shows.

 

The series is underrated for many reasons.
First, I think they are beautiful coins with a lot of history, most do not know that they were struck in the US or that the coins struck in Manila were struck at the only US branch Mint to ever be located outside of the continental united states.
Second, When compared by the rarity of high grade, appealing coins they are a bargain at todays prices. The prices for better grade examples have steadily climbed as more and more collectors have come to discover and appreciate this series but they have a lot more potential. The market is still relatively small for the US Philippine issue but growing. If you compare the rarities of the series such as the 1906-S Peso, with rarities like the 1893-S Morgan, the prices are cheap. That said, I do not think the Philippine series will ever be as popular as series made for circulation within the continental united states.
Third, Availability does hinder the series from ever being a mainstream collectable. Many of the popular series (Morgan Dollars) are due to promotions by large dealers. There simply is not enough quality US Philippine coins for a large dealer to ever have a promotion. As much as I try, I could never stir a lot of interest in this series as it would be impossible for many collectors to even assemble high grade type sets, let alone complete sets of each denomination. The coins simply do not exist in quantity.


As far as tough dates, they can all be difficult but for me to call a date tough it needs to be a date that you simply cannot find for sale. This get more complicated if you add varieties such as the 1918-S Large S one centavo or the 1918-S Five Centavo Mule, both are extremely hard to find in problem free condition. I will list what I consider the "keys" for each series but believe me when I say, there are a lot of semi keys.


Half Centavo:
1905, problem free. This was a proof only issue and is available but is a killer in a problem free,higher grade condition.


One Centavo:
Most early One Centavos are difficult in mint state red
1909-S
1915-S
1918-S
1920-S
If you add the varieties it is much harder.


Five Centavos:
1916-S
1918-S
1919-S
1931-M
1932-M
1934-M
1935-M
1941-M


Ten Centavos:
1903-S
1904
1909-S
1911-S
1912-S
1914-S
1915-S


Twenty Centavos:
1903-S
1907
1909-S
1910-S
1911-S
1915-S


Fifty Centavos:
1904
1905-S
1908-S
1909-S


One Peso:
1904 (UNC)
1905-S
1906-S
1910-S
1911-S
1912-S


Many of the above coins can be found in lower grade or impaired condition, but are scarce in higher grades while some are just flat out rare in anything above AU.

 

I could not agree more, Ray Czahor (Cookie Jar Collectables) is a wealth of information.

 

Have you ever bought any of his custom coin abulms?

 

Manilla mint -

 

I used to collect them, but have since stopped. I still have a nearly complete mint-date set.

PHILIPPINES, Insular Government. 1901-1935.
Proof CU Centavo (18mm, 2.63 g, 6h)
Philadelphia mint. Dated 1903.
· UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ·
Eagle standing facing atop shield, head left, with wings spread, clutching a palm branch and bundle of arrows
HALF CENTAVO FILIPINAS
Male figure seated against anvil, resting hammer; in distance, Mt. Mayon
Allen 1.01; cf. Basso 110 (for business strike)

Ex Cookie Jar Collectibles MBS X (31 July 2007), lot 270
​

 

I am not aware of any custom coin albums but Ray does sell coin albums he obtains from a dealer in the Philippines. I have some sitting in front of me right now. They are high quality but a bit more expensive than your average dansco album due to the limited production. There are a few dealers who actively stock those as well as other out of print albums (When they are available).