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2 Centavos - Isabella II Pattern
| Issuer | Philippines |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central design features a royal crown rendered in fine relief, positioned above the date 1859, all enclosed within an inner beaded circle. A small fleur-de-lis ornament appears at the base of the design below the date. The circumferential legend reads ISABEL 2A POR LA GRATIA DE DIOS, distributed around the field between the beaded circle and the milled border. The overall composition is bold and uncluttered, typical of mid-nineteenth-century Spanish colonial pattern coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Philippine Islands had no locally struck coinage of their own before 1861, when the Manila mint finally opened. This 1859 pattern predates that opening by two years and belongs to a series of trial pieces produced to evaluate denominations and compositions before the mint became operational. The Manila facility was the first Spanish colonial mint in Asia, established under royal decree specifically to address the chronic shortage of small change that had plagued the islands for decades.
Patterns from this pre-opening period are genuinely rare by survival. Most were retained in official collections or sent to Madrid for approval rather than entering circulation.