1859 20 Reales Coin with Doubling/Repunching and Possibly Two Mintmarks?

Note: I originally posted about this coin in the World & Ancient Coins forum this morning, but on further reflection give the unique characteristics of the coin I decided it may be better suited for the Errors forum.
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I recently acquired this interesting coin from a souk in Morocco and paid 240 Dirhams (~$28) for it. Upon close examination, I observed several interesting features on the reverse, including what appears to be substantial re-punching (possibly doubling?) and what appears to me to be a four-pointed star mintmark superimposed above a six-pointed star mint mark. Particularly interesting are the 3-legged R in "Reina", as well as the N which appears completely disjointed. There are also some interesting effects in the "20 Reales" and "Las Espanas" including a very pronounced doubled A in "Las." It appears at times that the doubling includes both a thin and fat version of the letter, which makes me suspect repunching (see especially the P in "Espanas"). I would be very interested in your thoughts on the coin in general, what is causing these interesting effects on the reverse and if this really could be a coin with both a four-pointed (Jubia) and six-pointed (Madrid) mint mark? It does weigh only 23.77g, which seems to be a bit light for this issue although it is a circulated coin. Are there any other potential red flags here? I am also very interested in your thoughts on what may have caused these interesting features. Thanks!

 

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Unfortunately this is a counterfeit coin. The doubling you are seeing is due to casting defects.

 

Yeah, fake, the obverse looks quite bad. Buying a $200 coin for $28 in a Moroccan souk would definitely be a mistake.

 

Too bad! I was prepared for the possibility, but figured it was a cheap option in the event it happened to be real. It was still a fun experience and it got me to learn a lot more about a really interesting coin so overall not a total loss. Thanks for the help!

 

A useful tidbit: when you see the details of the high profile areas like a portrait or crest blending in with the fields, it's a good sign of a cast coin. Struck coins will have a sharper contrast between fields and features.

Hopefully that will help with the next time you make a flea market buy. =)

 

Thanks! This is a great pointer, and now that I look at the coin with this in mind I can see just how poor quality a fake it is (particularly given all the errors on the reverse). If anything I got a good example of a fake to compare to other coins I might encounter down the road!

 

Yes it's useful having a collection of various types of fakes for making direct comparisons. Best of luck in your coin hunting.