issues for circulation. Coins minted in San Francisco had a small "S" mintmark placed to the left of the date; Philadelphia coins were without a mintmark. In 1904 all Spanish and other foreign coinage was demonetized. The territorial coinage minted for the Philippines was locked in an exchange rate of two Pesos to one Dollar, and issued in denominations of Half, One, Five, Ten, Twenty, and Fifty Centavos, and One Peso. The Half Centavo proved useless in commerce and was withdrawn from circulation in 1904, and owing to a rise in silver prices the silver denominations (Ten centavos on up) were all reduced in size and alloy in 1907. In 1908, the San Francisco mint was finally authorized to coin base metal cents, and was thus positioned to take over all coinage production for the Philippines after that. After 1912 the Peso ceased to be minted. Such was the state of the coinage for the Philippines when the United States decided to establish a branch mint in the Philippines to take over the role then occupied by the San Francisco mint. Official United States Mint Branch In 1920, the Manila Mint was reopened under United States auspices, and was the first (and to date only) U.S. branch mint located outside the Continental United States. It produced coins until 1922 and then again from 1925 to 1941, when the Japanese Empire invaded the Philippines during World War II. The mint was operated under Japanese auspices during the occupation. No U.S. coins were produced at Manila after 1941 due to the occupation and to Philippine independence in 1946, although Philippine coinage did take place at the other U.S. mints in 1944 through 1946 (all dated 1944 and 1945 only). The mint also produced a special coinage for the inmates at the Culion Leper Colony. The building housing the mint was destroyed during the retaking of the city in 1945. Coinage and Mintmarks Mintmarks In the beginning, the Manila mint produced its coins without a mintmark, but in 1925 it began using the "M" mintmark on all of its coins until its closure at the end of 1941 with the Japanese invasion. In 1936, to commemorate the Philippines becoming a Commonwealth and no longer a mere territory, Ambrosia Morales was commissioned to generate new coin designs for the commemorative Fifty Centavos and One Peso. The coins he designed featured Manuel L. Quezon as