Douglas Macarthur Commemoratives

Very nice!

I've always liked these Philippines commemorative pieces - thanks for sharing.

In addition to my focus on US commemoratives, I also collect the coinage struck for the Philippines while either a Territory or Commonwealth of the US. I extend my set to include these first releases by the newly-independent Philippines Republic due to their strong US history tie-in.

I also include these in my "US Commemoratives by Countries Other Than the US" collection.

I agree that there is little definitive information published regarding why the coins were so weakly struck, but I have a theory. It is based on when the coins were struck by the San Francisco Mint.

Laura Gardin Fraser worked on the designs for the coins through much of 1947. It was relatively late in the year before they were finalized and it was not until December 1947 that the SF Mint struck the coins. I've seen images of the plaster models LGF prepared for the coins and can say that they feature much more detail and depth vs. the coins that were produced. It appears certain that the relief of the models was decreased during the process that reduced the models and created the dies.

December 1947 was a busy month for the SF Mint. It struck 9.8 million Roosevelt dimes during the month (28% of its total 1947 output of dimes) along with 1.4 million Washington quarters (nearly 26% of the branch's 1947 total for the coin). It also struck roughly 100,000 Booker T. Washington commemorative half dollars in December.

My belief is that this high demand for circulating coinage volume caused the SF Mint to make compromises regarding the MacArthur commemorative coins. I believe it was decided to reduce the striking pressure used to produce the coins to extend die life, minimize handling time and complete the Philippines' order as quickly as possible.

Coupled with the low-relief dies, the weak striking pressure used during production created coins that do not live up to their potential. (At least IMO.) LGF can't be blamed for the final product, however, as she created well-executed, attractive designs that would have made excellent coins had time allowed for more proper handling of the Philippines Republic's first coins.

You might find this previous post of mine of interest: https://goccf.com/t/137631

I completely agree these are beautiful coins, I just saw a pair of really high grade ones listed on ebay... out of my league but beautiful coins to drool over...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1947-S-Phil...em4d188831bf

Thanks for sharing! Great coins, great history.

I recently picked up some additional examples of these, and this particular peso is especially instructive, I think. There are die polish lines in the fields on both sides (and before anyone says "scratches" or "hairlines" let me remark that while there is a gouge extending through MacArthur's cap, the striae I'm referring to and have provided photos of are raised and do not encroach upon the devices, so I'm confident I'm interpreting them correctly). This would suggest an early die state, which leads to the conclusion that the strike ought to be about as good as it gets. And in some respects this is so; note that the "scrambled eggs" on the visor of MacArthur's cap are pretty well defined, which is not always the case. However, other aspects nevertheless remain deficient, such as the upper left part of the star at the top of the shield, as well as the right side rays of the sun. And in comparing this with other specimens, what I observe is that the strikes are pretty inconsistent, exhibiting weakness or strength in varying areas. I have a gut feeling that the San Francisco mint didn't assign their best or most experienced personnel to the preparation of the dies for this issue, compounding the limitations already imposed by the low relief.