I got the coin from my father, I tried to identify it but had no luck and he doesn't remember what it is. I have no idea what it is, if you could help me identify it I would be most grateful. dates 1820 looks like its 10 escudos
Frankly, I'm stumped. Except for the date it matches KM#636.1 (1866-68) or KM#636.3 (1868/1873), an 8.3870g .900 gold (.2427 oz. AGW) coin with a portrait of Queen Isabell II and the legend "Isabel II, by the grace of God and the Constitution" on the obverse; and a crown, Spanish arms, and the legend "Queen of the Spains" on the reverse. The problem is that 1820, the date clearly shown on the coin, was during the reign of Ferdinand VII, 6 years after his return from exile, and 13 years before Isabel II assumed the throne! KM#636.3, minted during the First Republic, is an example of the Spanish custom (which continued until 1982) of using the same original mint date on a coin throughout its life, and putting the actual year of mintage in inside the two six-pointed stars in the design. The picture is too small to tell if the stars on this one have a date inside. The 10 escudos Isabel II coins have bullion value of about $100, and are valued in the 3rd Ed. 19th Century Krause from $125-950, but no value is stated for a coin minted more than a dozen years before the begining of its subject's reign.
Thanks for all that information. I will check the stars tonight and try to post a more detailed scan. If anyone else has any idea what this is, share it with the rest of us.
After checking the stars under magnification, the date is 1869. Does this mean the coin is a fake or an error of some kind?
I can only conclude that the coin is a fake. First of all - there were no such coins of this type struck in 1820. And there were none struck after 1868 either or in that denomination.. So with both dates wrong and the denomination for an 1869 coin - I don't know what else to conclude.
Are there ways of telling if it is indeed gold? Why would such care go into making a fake like this? Why would a fake have incorrect dates?
The first thing to do would be to accurately measure & weigh the coin. If those numbers are correct - 8.3870 gm and 21.5 mm - then you can probably assume the coin is gold. As to why they would make one - to sell it. It could be they made the coin this way to sell to some unsuspecting collector as a rarity. Or it could be they just didn't know any better.
It may turn out to have some gold content, although I would doubt it. It may be silver plated with gold. It could be base metal plated with gold. It might have no `gold' about it whatsoever. Maybe there is chocolate at the core, it is not possible to tell from the scan. What I can say (with absolute certainty) is that it isn't a genuine coin.
Coins are sized by weight in grams and diameter in millimeters. Occasionally the thickness is also important, such as in certain WW II Japanese aluminum coins which were originally minted at one weight and subsequently at a reduced weight. In that case the measurements would be in the form 1.2g and 16x1.5mm.
