1908-S One Peso (Philippines) - What's Up with the Obverse?

I posted this coin on the CU forum to garner opinion, and so I want to get your thoughts on it as well. Once I got it under the lens I noticed the obverse is littered with what looks like tiny shards of metal dispersed throughout. This is also present on the reverse to a much lesser extent. Is this environmental damage? These anomalies also remind me of what some cast copies looks like due to tiny air bubbles in the mold. The diameter (35 mm) is exact, and the weight (19.87 g) is accurate given its condition. I appreciate any advice/expertise the CT community can give. Thanks.

 

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Interesting, those really look like casting pearls, but the coin is so beat up, it might be due to something else. Let's see what others say...

 

Yes, I believe this to be a cast counterfeit. Compare yours to a genuine specimen, and there are quite a few differences: https://coins.ha.com/itm/philippine...1-5854.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

The first and most obvious thing I always point out when trying to identify a fake: look at the dentils. The dentils are one of the hardest design elements to get right on a fake, and one of the first signs that you have a fake. If the dentils don't look right, that's an immediate red flag - and the dentils on your coin don't look right.

 

The government of the Philippines dumped tens of thousands in the bay so the Japanese did not capture as war booty.
There is a write up in the red book about this story...should you care to research.

 

Do you remember if that was a certain date, or a variety of dates? I don't have my redbook handy to check.

 

It was everything they could crate and dump that was silver.
Remember war years 1 oz. silver was worth a buck.....so they dumped it some charted some not to empty the banks. So the op coin maybe be fake, maybe sea effects and , or pvc.
Finding these in great ms shape are rare and hold value.

 

"The advance on the Philippines by Japanese forces in 1942 prompted removal of much of the Treasury's bullion to the United States. More than 15 million pesos' worth of silver remained, mostly in the form of one-peso pieces of 1907 through 1912 and the ill-fated 1936 commemoratives. These pieces were hastily crated and dumped into Manila's Caballo Bay to prevent their capture. Partially recovered after the war, the coins were badly corroded from their exposure to seawater, adding further to the scarcity of high-grade prewar silver coins."

 

I think it is any pre- 1941 coin that has the possibility of spending time in the bay.
Basically all the silver in the Manila mint was dumped in the bay.
https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/philippines-under-us-sovereignty-pscid-83

 

I include this in with my Dollar type set.

 

Here is are photos of my 1908-S.

 

Well pitted from sea water

 

Which one?

 

Another consideration. Filipinos that were caught by the Japanese with U.S.-Philippine coins were usually executed. For that reason many buried their coins. Taking in consideration the horrid humid tropical conditions in the Philippines, and being buried, most of the recovered coins will not be in good shape.