Philippines 1883 10 centimos
This specimen was lot 1457 in Áureo y Calicó sale 346 (Barcelona, March 2020), where it sold for €100 (about US$132 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1883/2. Alfonso XII. Manila. 10 centavos. Buen ejemplar. MBC+. (kingdom of Spain, Alfonso XII, Manila mint, ten centavos of 1883/2, nice example, very fine or better.)"
The Philippines were conquered by Spain in the late 1500's. Other than introducing Christianity, the colonizers made little effort to develop the islands which gradually fell into the hands of the friars. Manila was important only as a way station on the route from China to Mexico and whatever coins were used there were derived therefrom. Crude, locally produced copper coins were issued c.1798-1835 and in the 1830's large quantities of Latin American pesos were counterstamped "F.7" or "Y.II" for local circulation. Finally, about 1860, a reforming government in Madrid sent the resources to reorganize the Manila mint and modern coinage began. After the Americans seized the archipelago during the Spanish-American war, all the Spanish issues were demonetized in 1904. This type was struck 1880-85 (plus the restrikes dated 1885) but only the 1885 is common. The overdate is not noted in Cayón.
Recorded mintage: 983,314.
Specification: 2.59 g, 0.900 fine silver, .075 troy oz ASW, this specimen 2,55 g.
Catalog reference: KM 148, Cayón-17544, AC. 98.
- Basso, Aldo P., Coins, Medals and Tokens of the Philippines, Menlo Park, CA: 1968.
- Ganzon de Legarda, Angelita, Piloncitos to Pesos, A Brief History of Coinage in the Philippines, Manila: Bancom Development Corporation, 1976.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Felipe VI, 1474 a 2020, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, ‘’Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed.’’, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduard Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Subasta Publica 346: Colección Manuela Etcheverría, Colección Javier Verdejo Sitges, Barcelona: Áureo y Calicó, 2020.
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