1781 Spanish Colonial 2 Reales Made in Mexico City

Hello,

In with a bag of foreign coins purchased at a local auction/flea market about 25 years ago looks to be a 1781 Spanish Colonial 2 Reales made in Mexico City. It is thin like a token, but that could be 235 years of wear and tear I'm assuming. It has a jewelry/watch maker mark from the mid 1800's. S.G. Durfee died in 1865 at the age of 35. The only other coin I found online with this mark was an 1830 (The year he was born) O No Drapery in VG condition that sold for close to $400. Is this just a keep in the collection coin, or could/should it even be slabbed?

 

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I'd consider it to be a keep in your collection. I don't think it'd be worth grading in your condition. Still cool though

 

Thanks! Who knows why he marked it, maybe thought it was fake or someone tried passing it off as a US 25 cent piece? More questions than answers.

 

The coin itself is almost worthless, but that countermark makes it interesting. A countermark of a Iowa watchmaker from 1800's on a Spanish 2 reales? Very cool. If the countermark is real, then I think it could be worth three figures. The condition is terrible, though, it would get a details grade, but at least you'd know it's legit.
It has nothing with it being fake or being passed a quarter. Countermarks were common in the past, maybe it was a test mark or just to certify it was real silver. Same reason they would mark a spoon with their name, this time on a coin.

http://www.exonumia.com/art/cmb.htm

 

That was still circulating at the time. Maybe he was testing his punch?

 

The good thing about counterstamps is that the condition of the stamp matters much more than the condition of the host coin. The coin appears to have been well circulated at the time the c/s was added.

 

From a value standpoint, I think the coin is far too worn to be worth much, even though buyers will pay for the countermark. There may be someone in the world who would pay a good price for it, but I wouldn't count on being able to find them. I'd grade that coin Fair details.

 

That is a magnificent counter stamp! Have you checked to see if it's in Brunk?

 

Yes, It shows a G. Durfee. It also has J. Durfee who I believe was Charlotte J., died at 23 from what I can gather. The O No drapery that sold with this mark said brunk unlisted, but it looks like it was, just not complete. I've seen w/o S.G a couple times in my limited resources. I also see Northam along with the name on multiple occasions. Hard to find info. An blurb in The Muscatine Journal Aug. 15 1864, about 5 months before he died " We learn from S. G. and C. S. Durfee that they have just received from Root and Cadys's popular publishing house of Chicago, a choice lot of new music as a donation for Iowa Central Fair. All sounds like the same mark maker.

 

I perused my Brunk and couldn't find it anywhere. Not under General Listings" nor under Jewelers or Watch makers.

My Brunk is 30 years old so it may have been updated.

 

Here's the rest of what I could find: DURFEE Samuel G. 35y 11m -d 09 Jan 1865. Some have that as date of birth but is death.
Samuel married Charlotte J Durfee.Samuel was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Muscatine, Iowa, United States.DURFEE & NORTHAM. (S. G. D. & C. C. N.) Watches, Jewelry, Clocks, &c. s s 2d b Iowa Av. and Chesnut Durfee S. G. (D. & Northam) bdds s s 2d b Iowa Av. and Sycamore.

 

Edit: The other coin with this counter stamp I saw was an 1840 O no drapery quarter