Not all of the millions of coins the U.S. Mint struck for the Philippines were perfect — just as with regular issue U.S. coins, errors occurred.

The profiled 1903 Philippines peso is struck 10 percent off center, with Stack’s Bowers Galleries writing, “A well-struck error with sharp details throughout and appealing gunmetal tone enlivened in areas by faint iridescence,” when it was offered at the 2019 American Numismatic Association auctions. An off-center error occurs when a planchet is misfed between the obverse and reverse dies in the striking chamber. 

Error dealer Jon Sullivan writes on his website, “An off-center is a coin which has its design struck off of the planchet. In order to quality as an off-center, there must be design missing on at least one side of the coin, and it also must be struck out of collar with no reeding on the edge except perhaps minor traces.” The offered peso shows a broad unstruck area. It was graded About Uncirculated 55 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.

It sold for $2,640, a fraction of what a comparably graded error on a contemporary Morgan dollar might cost. 

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