Can anyone tell me what I have? The coin is styled after an 8 real coin. The obverse has a bust of Charles IIII but the date on the coin is 1777. It was minted in Mexico City with the assayers mark TH which would put it's minting date in the early 1800s, more in line with the bust on the coin. The back of the coin says 8R but the diameter of the coin is only 33mm making me think it was struck on a 4 real planchet, however the weight of the coin is only 10.5 grams, making it undersized even for a 4 real coin. It is real silver though making me curious as to what it may be.I have owned this coin since around 1980 so I know it is not a current counterfeit. Let me know what you think. Thanks, Pat
It is not struck on a 4 reales planchet since the full design and dentils are visible. This is a very odd piece. On the one hand it looks like a contemporary counterfeit. On the other hand, it makes no sense since an 8 reales in the size of a 4 reales would immediately be flagged as fake. I'm fairly certain the penalty for counterfeiting was death. Since contemporary counterfeits only needed to pass as genuine once, they often end up looking obvious after some time in circulation, but the size/denomination difference is not something I've ever seen on a CCC. Also it does not look like silver and if same diameter and thickness as a 4 reales but weighing 10.5 grams, then it cannot be.
@Paty99 do you mind if I cross-post your coin on another forum where there are some specialists in this field?
Yes that is correct but the assayers mark says it was minted in the early 1800s?? Which makes the bust correct timewise and the date on the coin wrong??
Part of my puzzle about this coin is, if you were going to make a counterfeit coin you wouldn't make it with so many obvious mistakes. Wrong bust for the date, 8 Reales on a coin the size of a 4 Real coin, light even for a 4 Real coin. And yet it is made of silver??
"Part of my puzzle about this coin is, if you were going to make a counterfeit coin you wouldn't make it with so many obvious mistakes." Remember a counterfeit only had to pass the first time to be successful. "And yet it is made of silver??" How do you know it's made of silver? What is the item's specific gravity?
It is definitely struck on a 4 real size planchet, meaning the reverse die was purposely made in 4 real diameter with an 8R marking???