Any thoughts on this one folks? The curved drapery at the bust is really tripping me up. It is a Carolus III 8 reales, and appears it may be a Mo mint, but tough to make out. The curved denticles on obverse indicate a misstrike or double strike. thanks in advance.
Interesting coin. I must say that the "III" that would apply to Charles III (1759-1788) of Spain doesn't make sense combined with at date of 1813 or 1815 as the coin's original date, unless the date is a countermark applied to the coin while in circulation, which makes sense. Perhaps the countermark was intended to revalue the coin or certify its circulation by a local authority during the war for independence (1810-1821). Yet another possibility is that your coin was originally a cast of a royalist 8 reales that was later over struck at a royalist mint, possibly Chihuahua or Durango. This is likely the best possibility. KM mentions that these mints overstruck cast coins during the war of independence, so I think of the two possibilities, I would lean in this direction.
Thanks. Very nice assessment. I think your third option is also most likely given the lack of a rectangular date counter stamp (ex: MVA 1813). I wonder if it’s worth sending into NGC given its condition. Online it appears Royalist examPre-1816 casts
I think given the time and expense I wouldn't send this coin to NGC. This is a very crude coin, which happens often with coins from this turbulent period. You could try sending photos of the coin to Dan Sedwick at his site or Kent Ponterio of Mexican Coin Company. Kent is very knowledgeable about Mexican coins. Perhaps he can help in identifying this coin. Dan's specialty is cob coinage. By the way, do you know the weight of your coin?
Sorry for the delay. Thank you for the advice. I will reach out to them. The weight is 27.1 grams and diameter is 39 mm.
