COINAGE OF THE AMERICAN REGIME 1903 - 1935 A set of American regime coins minted in San Francisco dated 1903  (first year of issue): 1 peso, 50, 20, and 10 centavos in silver; 5 centavos in nickel; one and half centavo in copper.

No sooner had the Philippines won its independence from Spain when it was again engulfed in a historic conflict with a new and formidable invader. By April 1, 1901, the United States had exacted an oath of allegiance from Aguinaldo, thereby ending the First Philippine Republic. In the midst of monetary chaos and depletion, Congress passed the 1903 Coinage Act for the Philippines, establishing a new monetary system based on the gold standard. Beginning 1903, in San Francisco and Philadelphia, silver coins of 1 peso, 50, 20 and 10 centavos and base metal coins of 5, one and half centavo were issued bearing the name "FILIPINAS" on one side and "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" on the other. The half-centavo soon proved to be inconvenient and was withdrawn from general circulation by 1904. Due to the significant increase in the value of silver, the larger denominations suffered a reduction both in size and fineness by 1907. On July 15, 1920 the Manila Mint opened its doors and took over the production of Philippine coins.