Owner Comments:
Lyman Allen #9.05b (KM #181) - Doubled Die Type #1. Total Mintage: 137,208,000 (variety mintage unknown)
General
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The 1945D 10 Centavo piece has the highest mintage of any US/Philippine era coin, and is one of only two issues exceeding a mintage of 100,000,000 (the other being the 1944S One Centavo which was minted in both 1944 and 1945, but only dated 1944). The high mintage of coins in 1944 and 1945 was necessary since virtually all previously issued coinage had disappeared during the Japanese occupation. Because of the high demand, dies were used well beyond their normal life and pieces struck from highly eroded dies are very common.
High mintage figures often imply common coins, but also provide the opportunity for some highly collectable varieties! With 137,208,000 minted by the US Mint in Denver, it's not surprising that there are a number of die varieties. Lyman Allen lists three in addition to the normal date:
Varieties
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9.05 - Normal date
9.05a - Repunched mint mark D/D (This Coin) Even within this variety, at least 4 sub-types exist with various orientations of the initial and secondary mint mark punches. Over the years, I have acquired examples of North-South (near), South-North (far), South-North (near), and Northwest-Southeast orientations.
9.05b - Doubled Die Obverse type 1. This variety is easily identified by the dramatic doubling of "UNITED", "STATES", all four digits of the date, and the bottom tip of the shield.
9.05c - Doubled Die Obverse type 2. This doubled die variety is not nearly as dramatic as 9.05b, but can still be identified with minimal magnification. There is a very slight doubling of "45" in the date, doubling of all of the letters in "UNITED", doubling of the letters "STAT" in STATES, and slight doubling of the letters "MER" in AMERICA.
In addition to the three varieties that have been cataloged, there is at least one other significant obverse doubled die variety in which all of the "P"s in the scroll text of "COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES" are very noticeably doubled.
This Coin
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This particular 9.05b exhibits a very full strike (including the word "of" just above the date) even though it was obviously struck from a heavily used pair of dies. The erosion lines emanating from the tips of the letters to the rim of the coin are easily visible without magnification. This coin was the first uncirculated example of this dramatic double die graded by NGC.
Date acquired: 9/24/2006 (raw coin)
Date graded: 12/01/2007 (self submitted to NGC)
Rev. 11/29/2015