Stack’s Bowers Galleries is going to auction a rare centavo coin for an estimated value of $10,000 to $15,000 at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont, Illinois, from 13th to 16th August. Graded NGC AU 55 brown, the coin was issued in 1899 by insurgents of Panay. The obverse side depicts a soldier wearing a helmet and the inscription reads REPUBLICA FILIPINA 1899, while the reverse side shows a sun within a triangle, along with the legend UNO CENTAVO PANAY. The well-preserved coin was struck hard. It features full legends and a chocolate-coloured patina. The crude design and small doubling on the reverse indicates that the coins were produced within a tight deadline using limited resources.

When Americans were fighting against Spain, the Philippine Revolutionary forces helped Americans. Spain lost this war and the Philippines was handed over to America in 1898. The Filipinos didn’t want America to govern their land. This was a break of trust which led to several internal conflicts. The Philippine-American War began in 1899 and Americans finally won the war on 4th July 1902. The rebels wanted to introduce coinage to support their war. Experts believe that these unofficial coins were struck on the island of Panay and were connected to the insurgency movement in those days. The coin bridged the gap between Spanish colonial coins that were circulated earlier and the American coinage that was introduced later.

Image Courtesy: Stacks and Bowers Galleries