Philippines Coinage Added to PCGS Set Registry^SM

(Newport Beach, California) -- Coins of the Philippines struck by the United States from 1903 - 1945 are now a part of the Professional Coin Grading Service Set Registry^SM program at www.pcgs.com.

"Adding the coins of the Philippines is a logical extension of the Set Registry^SM," explained David Hall, PCGS President and Founder.

"Many of these coins were struck at the United States mints during a time when the Philippines was a U.S. possession. These particular coins even bear the legend, 'United States of America,' are listed in most major price guides, and are avidly collected as part of the American series. We are pleased to give these coins the recognition they deserve."

B.J. Searls, Manager of the PCGS Set Registry^SM, noted that collectors may compete in a number of areas.

"We've separated Philippines coins by individual denominations, with individual registries for Circulation strikes and Proof issues. So, collectors of Half Centavos in Mint State will have a registry of their own; collectors of Proof Pesos will have their own registry, and so on. Finally, determined, serious collectors will be given an opportunity to 'slug it out' in registries that include complete sets of either Circulation strikes or Proofs."

The Philippine Islands were purchased by the United States following the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898. To stabilize the economy, the United States struck a new series of coins bearing the design of the Filipino artist, Melecio Figueroa. These unusual coins bore the names of two different countries: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and FILIPINAS (the Spanish name for the Philippines).

Silver coins were struck from old Spanish and Mexican coins removed from circulation in the Philippines. Unfortunately, a spike in the price of silver caused the bullion value of the coins to exceed their face value. This led to mass melting of the coins, a reduction in purity and size, and an eventual moratorium on the production of silver coins.

The earliest U.S./Philippines coins were produced at U.S. mints but, from 1920 on, production shifted to a mint in Manila. After the Japanese captured the Philippines during World War II, American mints produced large quantities of coins to be used in the eventual recapture of the Islands by U.S. forces. American coinage for the Philippines ceased in 1946 when Filipinos achieved their independence.

The interactive PCGS Set Registry^SM was launched in February 2001 as an online forum for collectors to list and build their collections. It ranks sets in order of grade point average, completion and overall rating. There are more than 11,500 sets now registered encompassing every major U.S. coin series, Canadian, British Euro coinage, and now coins of the Philippines.