JAA Philippines Half Centavo, Proof (1903-1908)

关于此套币: The U.S. Philippines Half Centavo was designed by Melicio Figueroa. The obverse design shows a young Filipino male seated next to an anvil holding a hammer in his right hand, his left arm raised, and in the background to his left is a billowing volcano. The reverse design depicts an eagle with spread wings perched atop an American shield. The Half Centavo was struck in Bronze (95% copper, 5% zinc and tin), and had a weight of 40 Grains. A mere 17.5 mm in diameter the Half Centavo is an exquisite example of the engravers art.

Business strikes of the Half Centavo coin were struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1903 (12,084,000) and 1904 (5,654,000). The Half Centavo was poorly accepted by the public and no further business strikes of this denomination were made after 1904. For lack of use over 7.5 million Half Centavo business strikes were withdrawn from circulation, and sent back to the United States where they were melted and re-coined into One Centavo pieces.

A very limited number of Proof Half Centavos were produced at the Philadelphia mint from 1903 through 1906 and again in 1908. The mintage figures for proof Half Centavos is as follows:1903 (2,558), 1904 (1,355), 1905 (471), 1906 (500), and 1908 (500). The 1905, 1906, and 1908 Half Centavos were PROOF ONLY ISSUES.

At the dawn of the Twentieth Century the U.S. Mint had not yet developed the special protective packing used for modern proof sets, and over the years, the condition of many of the surviving U.S. Philippines proof coins have deteriorated due to poor storage techniques, environmental degradation, and improper cleaning.

"Proof Sets were not sold in any sort of protective packing or cases but were contained in plain paper coin envelopes, and each coin was wrapped individually in thin tissue paper. This method of packaging has contributed to the micro thin hairline scratches seen on most proof coins as well as the heavy toning often seen. GEM coins are quite RARE and all are very scarce due to the low mintages." (Allen 2008).

Bronze proof coins were particularly susceptible to the high heat and humidity of the Philippines, and full Red GEM Proof Half Centavos of any date are extremely rare. While a slightly larger number of Red Brown Gems have survived, high numerical grades do not necessarily equate with great eye appeal, and finding attractively toned Red Brown Gems can be quite challenging. Beautifully toned Superb Gems, such as the two examples in this set, are extremely rare.

The five coins in this set are among the finest surviving examples of the Half Centavo Proof issue. All are Condition Census coins and three are Top Pops with the 1905 PR67RD being the single finest certified example of it's date. All of the coins in this set have very distinguished pedigrees; the 1903 PR67RD and 1906 PR65RD are from the "Dr. Greg Pineda Philippine Collection". The 1904 PR66RD, 1905 PR67RD, and 1908 PR66RD are from the famous "Mahal Collection" (better known as the "Just Having Fun Collection").