I Bought a Non-US Mint Coin

This could a slippery slope in multiple directions

1801 8R PCGS AU50 from the Spanish Colonial mint at Potosi, Bolivia is what I'm told by the person who helped me find a nice example (not sure if they post here as well but thanks again if so).

 

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There's no going back now. More and more of those dark side coins will slip into your collection

 

Yep, Potosi Bolivia. The mint mark is at the 8:30 location on the reverse. It is an intertwined P, T, S, which probably where the dollar sign came from we use. Very nice example with nice original color. I would love to have it.
The pronunciation is Po-To-Sí

 

Beautiful coin. That comes from the richest silver deposit in the world.

 

Welcome to the dark side!

 

Hey you stole my line!

 

LOVELY GEM

 

That is awesome. I luv da silvur.

 

Very nice! Actually your coin, along with the earlier Pillar type, is the first coin listed in the Red Book and was legal tender for a dollar until 1857. Therefore I would consider it part of both a US and dark side collection. Eye appeal is tough to find with these and yours is off the charts.

 

I was gonna mention that but was too lazy to type it. Plus my grammar and punctuation are turrible. I agree with Sorbo basically

Since i stopped by, THAT is probably THE nicest 8R ive seen thus far. The eye appeal is Re-donk-ulous

BTW, go Pats!!! I dont REALLY like them but i know a ton of stealer hillbillies that will be pissed if they win . Sorry bout da off topic post. Please forgive

 

Gateway coin

Now you need one from EACH of the Spanish Colonial mints...

 

Yeah thats why I titled the thread the way I did cause technically it could have circulated in the US.

Definitely a gateway coin I already have my next type targeted haha

Thanks for all the nice comments about the coin I'm real happy with the pickup was surprised these are reasonably priced for the age and rarity.

 

Incredible.

 

Here's seller's photos of my 8 reales, a very distant second from the OP's monster. This one is from Mexico City. I did a lot of searching before pulling the trigger and am glad I waited. At least for me, there isn't much of a correlation between eye appeal and grade in this series, as I've seen even high AU coins that are weakly struck dipped out dreck (the OP's coin being a MAJOR exception). Since I can't afford monster toning I'm a sucker for circ cam.

 

Glad to see that you have finally seen the light. Non-US coins are way more interesting. Hope you never go into the shade again.

 

What is not widely recalled is that the purpose of these coins was largely to move silver from the Spanish colonies to Spain. They were then melted down and coined into proper coins. Several Flotas, heavily guarded, travelled each year -
The last Flota was 1789.

So while the mint technology was improved over time, and they certainly did circulate locally and up into Estados Unidos, those were secondary purposes...

"Although Spain's dominance of the Americas ultimately came to an end, it left a lasting legacy. From the 16th to the 18th century, Spanish mines in Mexico and South America produced more than 4 billion pesos' worth of precious metals. This equaled roughly 80 percent of the world's silver production and 70 percent of gold at a time when these precious metals were the most widely accepted international currency."
https://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/129shipwrecks/129facts1.htm

 

Completely agree about no correlation between grade and eye appeal. Honestly the least eye appealing examples i found were low MS and there are tons like yours that are much nicer appeal in VF-AU. Nice coin!

 

Nice post. Do you recommend any books on the topic? Googling around doesn't come up with much especially in English.

 

Sorry, @IBetASilverDollar there isn't much. I have a casual interest sparked when I bought an NGC Young Numismatist / Treasure Trivia slab that had a Bolivian coin in it.

What I did is join Numismatics International: http://numis.org/ On a good day, they might admit that the United States was a lost colony of some world power or other.

They publish a lot of articles on Colonial Spanish coins, translated to English by numismatists.

Not to take away from the organization (do join. $15 digital, $30 postal (US)), the prior NI Bulletins are now archived at the Newman Numismatic Portal - https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/514285

If you join NI, you have access to the ones not yet in the NNP and a wonderful index... for example on Spanish Colonial, at random

Assayers of the Mint of Mexico During the 16th C. Pillars Coinage, 1536-1571
extensive history of Mexico mint's Assayers - 1536 - 1571(?)
Jorge A Proctor
Central America, Spanish colonial, Mexico
Jan 2015; Feb 2015

Which can be found: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/521021

I read recently an article on the mints of which I remember there is a rare mint that can't be distinguished from Potosi because they didn't mark their coins. I think it was in NI, but have no memory of which issue (I read them at random intervals and certainly out of order). But that's why I'm pointing you at NI.

 

Thanks!