Thursday, March 15, 2012

What's The Oldest Thing You Have?

Aside from my grandmother who is 96 years old, very much alive and kicking!, I have this 108-year old, one-Peso Philippine silver coin.

The obverse depicts Lady Liberty minting - holding a mallet and striking an anvil.  The background is the iconic, perfectly-coned Mayon Volcano of the Bicol Region in the Philippines.  The words "ONE PESO FILIPINAS" are written on the outer ring of the coin.




The reverse features the american crest (bald eagle holding arrows and olive branch, flag / shield).  The words "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and 1904 are on the outer ring of the coin.


The "S" mint mark can also be found on the reverse side situated in between 1904 and the word "UNITED".  The "S" means that the coin is minted in San Francisco.


It is said that this series is one of the prettiest coins ever minted.

The Philippines is a colony of the United States for 47 years, from 1898 (when the Philippines was ceded by Spain to the United States for 20 Million US Dollars in the Treaty of Paris) up to 1945.

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