History That You Can Touch: 1944 Philippine Commonwealth Fifty-Centavo Coin

This is just a year older than the first 1945 coin I wrote about in my previous post (read blog here).

As part of America's plan to resurrect the economy of the devastated Philippines after World War II, it minted new coins to be used in the Philippines as the Japanese Imperial Army confiscated all the coins they could get their hands on. The coins they confiscated were brought back to Japan to be melted and used for their own purposes, probably for ammunitions and machinery.

Finally, on October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur landed in Leyte to start the campaign to recapture and liberate the Philippines, which gave everyone hope that this might be the beginning of the end of the war. By the time MacArthur landed in Leyte, the people of Victorias had already suffered for two years and five months in the hands of the Japanese invaders. And although the Japanese Imperial Army arrived in Victorias on May 27, 1942, the first Victoriahanon who died during World War II perished on December 16 or 17, 1942, days after the Japanese attacked the Philippines. Their ship sank in the waters of Manila Bay after it hit a sea mine (read blog here). During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese took over Victorias Milling Company (VMC) and produced alcohol for the use of their military (read VMC history here).

(The obverse of the 1944 Commonwealth coin)

This coin also contained silver and was minted in San Francisco Mint, while coins using base metals were minted in other mints in the US. Identical with the 1945 coin, 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 want to flatten or shape into another form. The steaming Mayon Volcano is on her left, and at the bottom is the world "FILIPINAS", which is a carryover of the Spanish influence.

The reverse has "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" written on top 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 written at the bottom.

     (The reverse of the 1944 Commonwealth coin)

Just like most Filipinos, whenever we see the years 1941 up to 1945 in our Philippine History, we all tend to remember with pain the suffering out ancestors endured in the hands of the invaders. This coin is also a real reminder of World War II. Liberation in Victorias came on April 26, 1945, when the first American soldiers arrived in Victorias. This is the reason why April 26 is celebrated as the feast of the Our Lady of Victory in Victorias.

The next coin will be a lot older.

(Photos of the 1944 coin taken at the Victorias Public Plaza).

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