History That You Can Touch: 1945 S Fifty Centavos Philippine Commonwealth Coin

(The reverse or the opposite side of the coin)

Just like the 1734 Murillo Velarde map, artifacts and objects from the past always bring back stories during the time when they were created. Starting with this piece of coin, I am connecting the history of Victorias to the time it was minted.

This is my 1945 S Fifty Centavos Philippine Commonwealth coin that I am writing about today.

All these years about writing the History of Victorias City Philippines, I am lucky to have those black-and-white photographs at home whose stories were as fascinating as the personalities in the picture. I have always said that black-and-white photographs tell the most colorful of stories.

         (The obverse or the main side of the coin)

When this 1945 coin was minted, the Philippines was still suffering from the ravages of World War II. All Philippine coins during the war were confiscated by the Japanese Imperial Army and must have been brought back to Japan to be melted into ammunitions or machinery needed for the war. The Philippine had its own Manila Mint that was used by the Spaniards during their time, and later by the Americans. But during the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese must have used the facility for their own purposes. The mint was destroyed during the liberation of Manila. This is the reason why Commonwealth coins were minted in 1944 and 1945 in the US - to replace the ones that were confiscated by the Japanese. 

When the US saw the war was ending, it started minting coins for the Philippines. Coins with silver were minted at the San Francisco Mint, while coins using base metals were minted at other mints in the US. The 1945 Fifty Centavo coins had 'S' mark; 'S' stands for San Francisco. This coin was struck in 1945, the year the American forces liberated the Negros island from the control of the Japanese Imperial Army. In Chapter 17, I wrote about the way of life of the people of the town of Victorias (read blog here), and in Chapter 26, I wrote about the day when the first American soldiers arrived in Victorias (read blog here).

This coin has grooves around it and is about 0.75 silver. The obverse (main face of the coin) features a woman, with her hair flowing with the wind, standing with a hammer on her right hand, while her left hand seems to hold a flower. Before her is an anvil - a block of iron on which you put a metal that you need to flatten or shape into another form. The steaming Mayon Volcano is on her left, and at the bottom is the word "FILIPINAS", which is a carryover of the Spanish influence.

The reverse has "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" written on the top of with the official coat of arms of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in the middle that included a scroll with the words "Commonwealth of the Philippines". "1945" is at the bottom.

Almost 80 years old, it has become a real reminder of World War II, the time when our Victoriahanon ancestors endured, and eventually survived, the cruelest and saddest part of our history.

The photos were taken at the Victorias Public Plaza.

In the next posts, I will share some older coins from the 1900s, and even a few from the early 1800s.

#WorldWarII #oldcoins #1945coins #philippinehistory #history #historians #WWII #commonwealthcoins #numismatics #coins