Philippines Ten Centavos 1903-1945

The ten centavos was the smallest silver piece of the Philippine coinage that Congress approved on March 2, 1903. Melecio Figueroa gave the silver denominations their own obverse: a young woman in a long gown striking an anvil with a hammer, with Mount Mayon in the background. The coin weighed 41.55 grains, about 2.69 grams, of .900 silver. Philadelphia made circulating coins in 1903 and 1904 and proofs through 1906, while San Francisco struck the 1903-S and 1904-S. Krause gives 1,200,000 and 5,040,000 for those two, which together make the 6,240,000 ten centavos the Mint's report credits to San Francisco through June 1905.

When the value of silver rose, Congress passed the act of June 23, 1906, which made the Philippine silver coins lighter and less fine. From 1907 the ten centavos weighed 30.864 grains, 2 grams, of .750 silver and was smaller across; older coins returned from the islands were melted at San Francisco and struck again to the new standard. Philadelphia made 1,500,781 coins dated 1907 by the Mint's report and the 1908 proofs; San Francisco struck ten centavos from 1907 to 1919, with no recorded coinage dated 1910 or 1916.

The Manila Mint struck the ten centavos of 1920 and 1921 without a mint mark and those of 1929 and 1935 with an M. From 1937 the reverse showed the arms of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and Manila produced the new design in 1937, 1938 and 1941. With Manila occupied, the Denver Mint struck the ten centavos dated 1944 and 1945, the first Philippine coins to carry a D.

Obverse. Figueroa's standing figure, a young woman in a long dress, is shown at an anvil with a raised hammer, Mount Mayon behind her; TEN CENTAVOS and FILIPINAS are in the legend.

Reverse. Up to 1935 the American eagle and shield, ringed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA over the year; from 1937 the Commonwealth arms.

Large or small. The .900 silver coins of 1903-1906 are larger than the .750 silver coins from 1907: the Red Book table gives 17.5 mm and 16.5 mm, Krause 18 mm and 17 mm.

Mint mark. Where there is a letter, it stands left of the year on the reverse: S (San Francisco), M (Manila) or D (Denver). Unmarked coins of 1903-1908 are Philadelphia's; unmarked 1920 and 1921 coins are Manila's.

• 1904: Philadelphia's business strike of 1904: 10,000 coins by Greysheet and CoinVarieties (CoinsBook prints 11,000), besides 1,355 proofs.
• 1905 proof and 1906 proof: proof only; Krause gives 471 and 500.
• 1907: the first year of the lighter coin and Philadelphia's last ten centavos for circulation, 1,500,781 struck.
• 1909-S: 312,199 struck, the San Francisco figure for the fiscal year 1910 in the Mint's report.
• 1910-S: NGC and PCGS list the date, but no mintage is recorded and the Mint's reports show no ten centavos struck between July 1910 and June 1911.
• 1914-S crossbar varieties: PCGS separates a short crossbar (Allen-8.10a) and a long crossbar (Allen-8.10b).
• 1917-S, 1918-S and 1919-S: 5,991,148, 8,420,000 and 1,630,000 struck, by the Mint's calendar-year records.
• Unmarked Manila coins: 1920 and 1921.
• 1937-M: the first Commonwealth ten centavos, 3,500,000 by the Red Book's figure.
• 1944-D and 1945-D: 31,592,000 and 137,208,000 struck at Denver. A 1945-D with the D punched twice is listed by PCGS as Allen-9.05a.

• 1903-1906: 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper; 41.55 grains (2.69 grams); about 0.0779 troy ounce of pure silver
• 1907-1945: 75 percent silver, 25 percent copper; 30.864 grains (2 grams); about 0.0482 troy ounce of pure silver
• Diameter: about 17.5 mm (1903-1906) and 16.5 mm (from 1907) in the Red Book table; Krause gives 18 mm and 17 mm
• Edge: reeded

The weights and fineness are the legal standards of the acts of 1903 and 1906 as printed in the Director of the Mint's report for 1907; the silver figures are those weights multiplied by the fineness.