For this coin:
20 Centavos - Alfonso XII - Philippines – Numista
and the other silver coins in this series, what actually was the denomination?
The SCWC, NGC website and Numismaster all catalog this coin as “20 centimos”. Numista catalogs it as “20 centavos”.
The coin itself doesn't provide any help - it reads: “20 Cs. de Po.” which could indicate “20 centimos od a peso” or “20 centavos of a peso”.
The SCWC uses both denominations - it refers to this time period of Philippines coinage as “Decimal Coinage” and “100 centavos = 1 peso”, but then proceeds to list all of the silver coins in this series as 10, 20, or 50 “centimos”.
I do realize that centimos and centavos are equivalent, but here's where I think there could be a problem: if you search the Numista catalog under “Philippines” for “20 centimos" this coin series will not be in the search results. It only appears in the search results if you search for “20 centavos”. Since there doesn't appear to be a consensus as to what the actual denomination of these coins was between sources, shouldn't this coin (and others in the series) be listed in the Numista catalog as both “20 centavos” and “20 centimos” so regardless of which denomination someone enters, a search will return the page for this coin?
Is there a policy for a coin to be listed with two different (searchable) denominations if there is ambiguity as to what the actual denomination was? If not, should there be such a policy?
One other unrelated question regarding this coin: the King Alfonso XII silver coins issued for circulation in Spain all have the King's head facing left, but all of the King Alfonso XII silver coins issued for circulation in the Philippines have the King's head facing right.
I made a quick check of the silver coinage for Queen Isabella II and King Alfonso XIII for both Spain and the Philippines and found that their respective heads face the same direction (right for Isabella II, and left for King Alfonso XIII) regardless of where the coins were intended to circulate.
So for silver coins of Isabella II, Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII for circulation in Spain, the head facings are: right/left/left;
For silver coins of Isabella II, Alfonso XII, and Alfonso XIII for circulation in the Philippines, the head facings are: right/right/left.
Are the head facings for Spanish coins simply random? They do not seem to follow the “alternating" custom used by the UK in which the head facing is always in the same direction regardless of whether it was intended for use in the UK or in a colony (but opposite that of the immediate predecessor).