Hi all I bought this coin from a reputable online store in Germany. It was sold as a genuine 1752 Mexico 8 reales coin (Ferdinand VI), with a weight of 27.06 grams. I have weighed the coin, and this is indeed the case. I am new to Spanish colonial coins, and as far as I can tell the details match up. However, I wanted to get views on here as to whether it is genuine? The only thing that troubles me are the hairlines on both the obverse and reverse. Any thoughts as to what these would be caused by? Views would be appreciated. Thanks AussieCollector
Examine the edge carefully. There should be two spots, directly opposite, where the design shows a slight overlap. Pictures of edge showing these two spots would be helpful. Those are not hairlines. They might be adjustment marks. If so it's from where the planchet was filed to reduce the weight to the correct amount. The broad section where the dentils have been flattened are of concern. Also some of the characters do not seem to be aligned properly (the U in VLTRAQUE and H in HISPAN).
Thanks jgenn, I'll post photos tonight of the coin edge. From memory, I recall finding the two spots (precisely opposite each other) where the designs overlap. Thanks for the information regarding adjustments - for the life of me, I couldn't work out what they might be from. In terms of the characters, I noticed that too. But looking at other 1752 Mexico 8 reales coins, they seem consistent (I think the alignment of the U and E look a bit worse because of the flattening of the Q). In terms of the H in HISPAN, that's exactly how it looks in comparison (see link below). http://www.coinfactswiki.com/wiki/Mexico_1752-Mo_MF_8_reales
Here's mine for comparison. It has issues with flattened dentils also. But it is encapsulated by NGC, for what that's worth.
Those edge pictures look correct. The purpose of the edge design was to deter shaving/clipping as well as to make the coin harder to counterfeit. The edge design was struck prior to the faces. I mentioned the flattened dentils because counterfeiters typically apply the edge afterwards, often damaging the dentils in the process. One should never pass judgement on the authenticity of 8 reales without examining the edge. Robert Gurney's book, Counterfeit Portrait 8 Reales, has much infomation that applies to pillar dollars, too.
Thanks again jgenn. So on balance, is this more likely to be a genuine coin, or more likely to be a counterfeit? I've looked into getting it slabbed, but the APCGS here in Australia have advised that they can't - so I'd need to get it sent overseas (to NGC or something?)... which I imagine would be a complicated process.
I think it is likely to be a genuine coin. If you conduct a specific gravity test and get a reading of around 10.3 you can feel more confident. These are wonderful, historic coins; genuine examples are highly collectible but for the same reason they are major targets of counterfeiters. I would not recommend sending this coin to a TPG -- the cost would probably not be recoverable for a coin in this condition.
Great, thanks again jgenn. I'm purchasing some digital 'pocket scales' (up to 300g or 500g to .01) to make it easier to weigh coins and do specific gravity tests, as I'm currently using old school gold scales (from my great grandfather!) which can't hold a cup of water.
P.S - I was very nervous about posting my coin here, as almost every other post I found on "is this 8 reales coin genuine?" came back as "no". So I'm relieved to find it is more likely genuine than not!
Here you have some more information, AussieCollector https://www.cointalk.com/threads/8-reales-spanish-empire-and-peninsulars-for-all.258294/ No worries, mate! ps: linked thread
I'm late on this thread but it looks like a real coin to me. Edge devices look ok. I agree with an earlier post that the vertical scratches are adjustment marks. Alignment of letters only reflects the attentiveness of the person creating the die. Letters were punched in individually, as were elements of the obverse and reverse design. So one working die for 1752 will not look exactly like another. And there were many dies made for each year, since output of this denomination was high. Here is one I own, for another comparison.
I realised that I never gave the SG of the coin after I got my scales. My pocket scales only go to 2 decimal places, and I am not sure how precise they are, but I got an SG reading of 10.27 for this coin.
It looks legit, just saw some circulation. Hopefully you got it at a good price, considering it was in Germany.
Thanks for your reply. And yes, I did get a good price.... considering it's an 8 reales coin from the 18th century
I love them with the Latin 5's. I picked up a 1755-G (Guatemala) that has the 5's that the uninitiated can't decipher. It is nice to see problem-free 8 reales that aren't 1770s and 1771s.
