Error Coins (Flora & Fauna Series)
Some of us struggle with those pesky scientific names given to flora and fauna. Well, you are not alone. The Flora and Fauna series of coins (1983-1994) had 2 well known minting errors due to spelling mistakes.
The first was on the 10 sentimo coin from 1983 (KM#240.1). Nearly 96,000,000 coins were minted. This error occurs only for the year 1983 as the coin was replaced with KM#240.2 starting in 1984.
| Code | KM#240.1 |
| Denomination & Value | 10 Sentimo |
| Design | Pandaka Pygmaea (Dwarf Pygmy Gobi) – the worlds smallest fish. Native to the Philippines but now also reported in Indonesia. |
| Years affected | 1983 |
| Composition | Aluminium |
| Mintage | 95,640,000 |
| Issue | Spelling mistake – “PYGMEA” instead of “PYGMAEA” (missing ‘A’) |
The next most notable error coin from this series is the 50 sentimo coin (KM#242.2). Again, 1983 was the mintage year where this error occurs with more than 27,000,000 coins produced. In this case the name of the eagle was spelled incorrectly (with a ‘B’ instead of a ‘P’).
| Code | KM#242.2 |
| Denomination & Value | 50 Sentimo |
| Design | Pithecophaga Jefferyi (Money Eating Eagle) – native eagle to the Philippines, endangered. |
| Years affected | 1983 |
| Composition | Copper-nickel |
| Mintage | 27,644,000 |
| Issue | Spelling mistake – name of eagle spelled incorrectly (“PITHECOBHAGA”) – “B” instead of “P”. |
The avid collector can find both coins available in excellent quality due to large mintage numbers. Expect to pay more for the 50 sentimo coin though. Both are excellent additions to any Philippine coin collection and are great talking points.