1904 Philippines Peso

coinkat

I know there are several experts here in connection with coinage from the Philippines- I have some simple questions as to the status of the 1904 Peso. The mintage is around 11,000 according to Krause and the Red Book- how accurate is that? Could some of the 1904 dated pesos be included in the mintage for the 1904-s? Any thoughts as to the surviving population?

I ask in part because it seems that the values in both Krause and the Red Book may reflect that the quantity minted may be higher - is it possible it has a story along the lines of the 1899 Morgan whereby the real mintage figure is higher?

krueger

From MINTEX 03 Ebay write up:

There are some really tough coins from 1904 where the total mintage of the silver issues (10c, 20c, 50c, and peso) was only around 10,000 coins each! Initially, no silver coins were scheduled to be struck in 1904, but under "Special Contract", 10,000 "SPECIAL MINT SETS" were struck and delivered to noted numismatist Farran Zerbe who planned to sell them at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition being held at the 1904 World's Fair in Saint Louis. Only about 4,000 sets were eventually sold, and the remaining pieces that didn't sell were shipped to Manila and released into circulation.
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According to Neil Shafers book"United States Territorial Coinage For the Philippine Islands". Data taken from the Archives. There were 1355 proofs struck and 10,000 Businesss strike sets struck on order by Farran Zebe (later president of the ANA) for sale at the "Louisana Purchase Exposition" in St. Louis.in 1904. 6746 sets remained unsold. The rest were sent to the philippine treasury in Manila., where another 500 sets were sold , leaving finally 6246 sets unsold and placed into circulation.

I believe the mintages are correct. Many were saved from the fair, and the body of Philippine collectors is small compared with most regular U.S. series. They have always been around even complete sets show up sometimes. Most circulated pieces are usually above VF. Low mintage, but many were saved. They sell well because of the mintage , but there are many much scarcer philippine dated coins. Beware, The "S" is sometimes removed from a 1904-S to make a 1904 peso which sells better and for more.

Krueger

coinkat

Interesting- I suspected there was a story