Bonedigger

Rick, Doug, etc.,

I was hoping you fellas, or anyone else could offer me some insight on this 1769 Mexico City 8R. The weight according to the seller is dead on at 27.06 grams, and guaranteed to be authentic.

Thanks
Bone/Ben

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Capped Bust Half Dollars Identification Reference
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GDJMSP

It's a common date - no special varieties that I know of. The weight is OK. The coin is corroded and looks to be covered in PVC, no doubt the cause of the corrosion. A shame too for the coin has nice XF details otherwise. As for value, in that condition, I would pass on anything over $125. Nice, no problem examples in XF can be had for $225.

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zaneman

I really like the reale coins. The crest is really neat. Does anyone happen to know if they make a gold reale coin of any kind?

GDJMSP

Yeah, they issued gold - but not with that design. They are called escudos and come in various denominations from 1/2 to 8 escudos. THIS is what they look like.

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zaneman

That is a great design. It appears to be out of my price range unfortunately though. I don't care much for american gold, but some foreign gold pieces are outstanding IMO.

Bonedigger

Yes, it has some surface problems. Thanks for the info.

B

__________________
A few things to remember, Certification and Attribution are Absolute and Definitive. Grading, on the other hand IS NOT. STRIKE is everything, be it strong or weak.
Capped Bust Half Dollars Identification Reference
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Mikjo0

I've heard that the U.S. dollar sign ($) was derived from the banners creating an "S" shape around the pillars on these reales.Anyone know if this is true?

Aidan Work

Mikjo0,yes,that is where the $ sign originates from.Don't forget that quite a few countries have Dollars as their currency,& I don't mean US$.

Aidan.

GDJMSP

That is the legend yes, but I'm not so sure it is true. It has long been my belief that the $ comes directly from the Potosi mint mark. Even a quick glance at that mint mark pretty much answers the question.

I think the legend of it being the due to the pillars and ribbon is because when someone first asked where the dollar sign came from they were told it was from the Spanish dollars. And if you pick up any Spanish colonial of this design, besides those struck in Potosi, you will find nothing that even comes close to resembling the $ except the pillar & ribbon.

But if you pick up a Potosi coin and see that mint mark - it is as obvious as the nose on your face. So look at the pic below and then you tell me where the $ comes from.

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Aidan Work

Doug,I do see what you mean.The 'S' that is wrapped around the 'T' does look like the Dollar sign.

Aidan.

Mikjo0

Thanks Doug,
Check out this description from New World Coins:

"Mintmark-P or later a monogram PTSI (Potosi) which looks similar to a dollar sign ($). The mint opened after the pillar type cob period, thus it is the only coin type not to see production. Shield type cob - (1574-1652), pillars and waves type cob - (1652-1773), milled pillar - (1767-1770), and milled bust - (1773-1825).The first dated coin was struck in 1617."

$$$$$$$

Bonedigger

Much better than my initial thought; St. Louis Cardinals...

B

__________________
A few things to remember, Certification and Attribution are Absolute and Definitive. Grading, on the other hand IS NOT. STRIKE is everything, be it strong or weak.
Capped Bust Half Dollars Identification Reference
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

GDJMSP

They're off by one year, the Potosi mint opened in 1573 - other than that OK.

The Potosi mint was located literally on top of a mountain of silver at over 9,000 ft. of elevation. It was, and still is I believe, the largest single silver strike the world has ever known. And they produced more silver coins than any of the other mints. And because of that, the coins from Potosi circulated more widely throughout the world than any of the Spanish colonials. I always found it a shame that they did not begin production of the milled pillar coinage until near the end of the series.

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Conder101

Eric Newman did a lot of research on the origin of the $ sign and his conclusion was that it was derived from the changing abbrieviation for Pesos. It started out as a capital written Ps then later the s moved to the left so it wrapped around the vertical stroke of the P. As time proceeded further the top of the P got smaller and the s got larger until the top loop of the P disappeared complete leaving the S on the vertical stroke $. He illustrates this through a series of accounting ledger books that show the change of the symbol over time.

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Aidan Work

For those who are unfamiliar with the Spanish-American gold coin series,I can tell you that the 8 Escudos is called a Doubloon.The 1 Escudo is 1/8 Doubloon,the 2 Escudos is 1/4 Doubloon,& the 4 Escudos is the 1/2 Doubloon.

Aidan.