#16

wondercoin

PCGS has only graded a total of 16 United States Philippine Pesos, in their history of grading coins, in the lofty grade of PR68 across the entire Peso series! Here is #16 which I got graded in Baltimore this week for a customer. Congratulations to my customer! Please post your proof Pesos here as well if you desire!

Wondercoin

Zoins

Congrats to USPI and the MAHARLIKA COLLECTION!

It's great to have the number 1 proof peso registry set!

• Philippines: https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/private-issues-territorial-gold/territorial-private-issues/philippines-basic-type-set-circulation-strikes-1903-1945/imagegallery/257643
• Pesos: https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset/160572
• Coin: https://www.pcgs.com/cert/44652122

Zoins

And congrats to you as well Mitch!

I see you have the only other 1903 Proof PR68 peso in your registry set!

https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset/161119

younique

So impressive Mitch! Can you share the customer's history with his/her coin?

wondercoin

‘’And congrats to you as well Mitch!
I see you have the only other 1903 Proof PR68 peso in your registry set!”

Zoins. That coin actually belongs to my son Justin. And, it’s the logo for his “monstercoinmart” company. He acquired it many years ago and, from your comment, I assume he used my Registry account to open his set(s) with the coin. But, the set(s) he entered it in do not show on my Registry sets listing page. So, I will need to get with Justin to figure out why it shows me as the owner of this coin. Thanks for the “heads up”. Wondercoin

wondercoin

younique - I will follow up on your question.

Wondercoin

Zoins

@wondercoin said:
‘’And congrats to you as well Mitch!
I see you have the only other 1903 Proof PR68 peso in your registry set!”

Zoins. That coin actually belongs to my son Justin. And, it’s the logo for his “monstercoinmart” company. He acquired it many years ago and, from your comment, I assume he used my Registry account to open his set(s) with the coin. But, the set(s) he entered it in do not show on my Registry sets listing page. So, I will need to get with Justin to figure out why it shows me as the owner of this coin. Thanks for the “heads up”. Wondercoin

Good to know Mitch. Congrats to Justin! It's a beautiful coin!

Looking forward to getting the Registry Set straightened out!

calgolddiver

spectacular coins !!!

ricko

Congratulations on the PR68 grade.... Nice to have a top tier coin. Cheers, RickO

wondercoin

Pesos: https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset/160572

Zoins posted the Registry set this new coin went into. That registry set of proof Pesos includes 2/3 of the coins with mintages of 500 or less, and one coin with a mintage of 1!! One of the greatest Unites States Registry sets in the entire Registry Universe in my opinion. An example of no amount of money in the world can come even close to matching the quality and rank of this collection! Bravo to the MAHARLIKA COLLECTION!

Wondercoin

wondercoin

‘So impressive Mitch! Can you share the customer's history with his/her coin?’

The customer bought the coin directly from “Justhavingfun” about 5 years ago. JHF told the customer he should do great owning the coin and that should likely be quite an understatement in the years ahead. The coin (as you see) is a beast! JHF (RIP) passed about 15 months after selling this coin to my customer. Obviously, it was the last coin my customer needed to complete his proof peso set in perfect PCGS pop top grades.

There can only be just 1 complete set of 1903-1908 proof pesos in public hands at the moment due to the US Mint striking just one 1907 proof Peso coin in 80%/20% silver. That coin is a true gem (in this customer’s set) currently grading PR65 at PCGS, but I believe the coin is still under graded. The US Mint also struck just one 1907 proof Peso in 90%/10% silver which is currently on display in a museum in Manila. The coin appears somewhat damaged and lightly worn from an account provided to me recently from an avid USPI collector. I plan to travel to Manila to see the other 1907 Peso in person within the next year and will report back on my findings.

Wondercoin

mark_dak

That's really a seriously beautiful coin(toning aside), it kind of puts our current coinage to the shame test!

Mark

3stars

I thought you meant Brett Hull...

wondercoin

I meant Joe Montana !!

Wondercoin

Zoins

@Zoins said:
Congrats to USPI and the MAHARLIKA COLLECTION!

It's great to have the number 1 proof peso registry set!

• Philippines: https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/private-issues-territorial-gold/territorial-private-issues/philippines-basic-type-set-circulation-strikes-1903-1945/imagegallery/257643
• Pesos: https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset/160572
• Coin: https://www.pcgs.com/cert/44652122

I was super curious about the name of this collection so I had to look it up:

From what WIkipedia says, they sound like Samurai in Japan or Knights in Europe:

WIkipedia authors said:
Maharlika

The Maharlika (meaning freeman or freedman) were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon, the Philippines. The Spanish translated the name as Hidalgos (or libres).[1] They belonged to the lower nobility class similar to the Timawa of the Visayan people. In modern Filipino, however, the word referred to aristocrats or to royal nobility,[2] which was actually restricted to the hereditary Maginoo class.[3]

Overview

The Maharlika were a martial class of freemen.[4] Like the Timawa, they were free vassals of their Datu who were exempt from taxes and tribute but were required to provide military service. In times of war, the Maharlika were obligated to provide and prepare weapons at their own expense and answer the summons of the Datu, wherever and whenever that might be, in exchange for a share in the war spoils (ganima). They accompanied their ruler in battles as comrades-at-arms and were always given a share. 1/5 of the spoils goes to the Ginoo and the 4/5 will be shared among the Maharlikans who participated, who in turn will subdivide their shares to their own warriors. The Maharlika may also occasionally be obligated to work on the lands of the Datu and assist in projects and other events in the community.[3]

Unlike the Timawa, however, the Maharlika were more militarily-oriented than the Timawa nobility of the Visayas.[5] While the Maharlika could change allegiances by marriage or by emigration like the Timawa, they were required to host a feast in honor of their current Datu and paid a sum ranging from six to eighteen pieces of gold before they could be freed from their obligations. In contrast, the Timawa were free to change allegiances at any time,[3] as exemplified by the action of Rajah Humabon upon the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan.[citation needed]

The earliest appearance of the term is manlica mentioned in the Boxer Codex with the meaning of "freeman".[6] The only other contemporary account of the Maharlika class was by the Franciscan friar Juan de Plasencia in the 16th century. He distinguished them from the hereditary nobility class of the Tagalogs (the maginoo class, which included the datu). The historian William Henry Scott believes that the class originated from high-status warriors who married into the maginoo blood or were perhaps remnants of the nobility class of a conquered line. Similar high-status warriors in other Philippine societies like that of the Bagobo and the Bukidnon did not inherit their positions, but were acquired through martial prowess.[5][7]

Zoins

@wondercoin said:
‘So impressive Mitch! Can you share the customer's history with his/her coin?’

The customer bought the coin directly from “Justhavingfun” about 5 years ago. JHF told the customer he should do great owning the coin and that should likely be quite an understatement in the years ahead. The coin (as you see) is a beast! JHF (RIP) passed about 15 months after selling this coin to my customer. Obviously, it was the last coin my customer needed to complete his proof peso set in perfect PCGS pop top grades.

There can only be just 1 complete set of 1903-1908 proof pesos in public hands at the moment due to the US Mint striking just one 1907 proof Peso coin in 80%/20% silver. That coin is a true gem (in this customer’s set) currently grading PR65 at PCGS, but I believe the coin is still under graded. The US Mint also struck just one 1907 proof Peso in 90%/10% silver which is currently on display in a museum in Manila. The coin appears somewhat damaged and lightly worn from an account provided to me recently from an avid USPI collector. I plan to travel to Manila to see the other 1907 Peso in person within the next year and will report back on my findings.

Wondercoin

It would be great to see the unique .900 silver specimen. I wonder if the Philippines could be persuaded to get a TrueView for it? Perhaps Phil @PCGSPhoto could offer to fly to the Philippines to photograph it?

wondercoin

Maharlika…

Synonymous with Royalty.

Wondercoin.

wondercoin

For anyone interested… check out …

‘Lost Land of Maharlika’
MARCH 5, 2014 GEOPOLITICS101 77 COMMENTS
Only one royal family holds the title for the whole Philippines, Borneo, Guam, Marianas Island, Hawaii, Da Nang Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Kuril Islands, etc.

The Land of Maharlika was composed of the Philippines, Borneo, Guam, Marianas Island and Hawaii, and was ruled by a certain King Luisong Tagean [later changed to Tallano for fear of Spanish execution].
Other territories that were said to be paying tributes to the Maharlikan Kingdom include:

Da Nhang – Vietnam,
Hong Kong,
Taiwan,
Kuril Islands
King Luisong ruled the entire kingdom from Luzon [named after him], the northern part of what is now known as The Republic of the Philippines, a duly registered corporate entity within the Vatican-organized Corporatoracy.

This claim is supported by surveys made as early as 9th century, acknowledged by British monarchy in 14th century. However, some court documents, including the land title OCT No. T-01-4, indicate the Tagean [Tallano] Clan only owns the whole Philippine archipelago, but ignored the other parts of the Maharlikan Kingdom, i.e. Sabah Borneo, Marianas Islands , Guam and Hawaii — an early attempt of a major land grab by the British and other colonialists.

Even in the 1935 Philippine Constitution, the number of islands were further reduced from 7,169 to 7,100 only, by the oligarch controlled legislative…..

And the Article goes on with very interesting analysis and certified documentation for anyone interested to read it online.

Wondercoin

Zoins

@wondercoin said:
For anyone interested… check out …

‘Lost Land of Maharlika’
MARCH 5, 2014 GEOPOLITICS101 77 COMMENTS
Only one royal family holds the title for the whole Philippines, Borneo, Guam, Marianas Island, Hawaii, Da Nang Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Kuril Islands, etc.

The Land of Maharlika was composed of the Philippines, Borneo, Guam, Marianas Island and Hawaii, and was ruled by a certain King Luisong Tagean [later changed to Tallano for fear of Spanish execution].
Other territories that were said to be paying tributes to the Maharlikan Kingdom include:

Da Nhang – Vietnam,
Hong Kong,
Taiwan,
Kuril Islands
King Luisong ruled the entire kingdom from Luzon [named after him], the northern part of what is now known as The Republic of the Philippines, a duly registered corporate entity within the Vatican-organized Corporatoracy.

This claim is supported by surveys made as early as 9th century, acknowledged by British monarchy in 14th century. However, some court documents, including the land title OCT No. T-01-4, indicate the Tagean [Tallano] Clan only owns the whole Philippine archipelago, but ignored the other parts of the Maharlikan Kingdom, i.e. Sabah Borneo, Marianas Islands , Guam and Hawaii — an early attempt of a major land grab by the British and other colonialists.

Even in the 1935 Philippine Constitution, the number of islands were further reduced from 7,169 to 7,100 only, by the oligarch controlled legislative…..

And the Article goes on with very interesting analysis and certified documentation for anyone interested to read it online.

Wondercoin

I'm interested so I checked it out. I was surprised to find a number of articles saying that this isn't substantiated.

Here are some articles:

• FALSE: Filipino ‘royal family’ ruled over pre-colonial ‘Maharlika kingdom’
• The lies about the ‘Tallano Gold’ and the truth about ill-gotten wealth

The general jist seems to be that while mainstream historians claim the Marcos family received their wealth illegitimately from the Philippines government, an alternative narrative is that Ferdinand Marcos received his wealth in gold for legal services he provided to the Tallano royal family, rulers of Maharlika.

Here's info from one of the articles:

https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/223032-false-filipino-royal-family-ruled-over-pre-colonial-maharlika-kingdom/

Claim: A post on Facebook dated September 24, 2018 states that former president Ferdinand Marcos was paid in gold by the “Tallano royal family of the Philippines” for being their lawyer.

The so-called royal family, whose last name is Tallano, is said to have ruled over a kingdom called Maharlika that was made up of the Philippines, Brunei, South Borneo, Hawaii, the Spratly Islands, and Sabah before Spain colonized our country.

They allegedly “owned” our country until the mid-18th century.

Our national hero Jose Rizal was supposedly a direct descendant of the Tallano family.

The Tallanos was said to have paid Marcos “192 thousand tons of gold” because they hired him to be their lawyer before he became a politician.

Accompanying the post is a photo of Marcos and his wife, former first lady Imelda Marcos, superimposed over a photo of gold bars. Another photo superimposed over the gold bars is of President Rodrigo Duterte. Text on the photo reads: “Marcos gold will save the world!”

The post has more than 79,000 shares and more than 5,000 comments as of posting. It was emailed to us to check through factcheck@rappler.com.

Rating: FALSE

The Facts: There is no historical proof that a royal family called Tallano ruled over a kingdom called Maharlika during pre-colonial Philippines.

Rappler consulted historian and Assistant Professorial Lecturer of History at De La Salle University Xiao Chua, and he presented 5 questions in response to the post:

1. Where is the title?
   [...]

2. Is there a mention of the name Tallano in any documents from the Spanish regime? From the Blair and Robertson collection of documents?

3. Was there a historical document from Spanish period citing Maharlika as a place name in the Philippines?
   [...]

4. If they were lawyered by Ferdinand Marcos and Jose W. Diokno, and if it was such a big case, was there a mention of the Tallanos in any of their writings, speeches, or credible biographies?
   [...]
5. If it was such a big Supreme Court case, was there a SCRA or any documents to be found in the Supreme Court about an alleged decision?

Regarding "Our national hero Jose Rizal" from the article, here's my coin. Regardless of the above, I'm always happy to post a coin