Hello everyone. A while ago my father gave me this 8 reales piece dated 1796. He bought it from a coin store run by a reputable dealer, who I know personally and is very friendly to us. I know 8 reales are highly counterfeited. I'm scared that this one might also be a fake. Here are some pics. The pictures may not be so good, so what are some ways to tell a fake from a real one? Thanks!
You can't always tell based on pictures. Nor can you always tell based on weight and measurement and in hand examination. The one and only way you can tell with certainty is to have the coin examined, in hand, by a qualified expert. And that does not necessarily mean a TPG either ! And I say that because the TPGs are not always qualified experts. And I say that because ALL of the TPGs have slabbed and certified as genuine a great many Netherlands gold ducats that I know for an absolute fact are Russian counterfeits - and can prove it. I will say one last thing. The one and only counterfeit coin I ever bought in my life was an 8 reales. And I bought it in hand, not over the internet or based on pictures. But it turned out to be a fake.
No obvious flags, but like GDJMSP and jgenn said - it's almost impossible to say for sure from the photos without seeing the edge and knowing the weight and specific gravity.
Even if you know those things, and can see the edge - it's still impossible to say for sure. Unless you are an expert in these coins who can recognize and identify known diagnostics, and know all the rest - there are times you simply can't say for sure.
Of course - as any statistician will tell you there's no such thing as 100% probability. We just try to get it as close to 100% as we can. In this case, by having as many diagnostics as possible pointing to it being genuine.
Even the real ones look fake to me. I have a couple of slabbed 8 reales coins and that's the only way I will buy them. And even then you wonder.
I know what ya mean Roman, what you are saying. And that's about all the average person can do. But you know what I'm talking about ? And perhaps you do know, but I'll continue for those who do not. For example, if you use the correct fineness of metal and the coin is the correct size, then the weight will be correct and the specific gravity will be correct. And if those things are correct then the only way left to identify counterfeits is by die diagnostics. And if you don't know them then the coin will be attributed as being genuine. And that's the whole thing in a nutshell right there. Now some folks will say but no counterfeiter will do that - but they would be wrong because counterfeiters DO do that. They do exactly that ! And I don't just mean modern counterfeiters either, contemporary counterfeiters did it too. As an example, the Russian Royal Mint counterfeited Netherlands gold ducats for approximately 150 years ! And they minted millions upon millions of them. And every coin was exactly the right weight, size, fineness, and specific gravity. And the Russian Royal Mint was not the only one to do this, to counterfeit coins on such a grand scale. In the '60's and '70's there were entire factories specifically built and dedicated to minting counterfeit coins from all countries. And each coin was the correct weight, size, fineness, and specific gravity. And the coins were of such high quality that they could even fool the mint of the country who was supposed to have minted them. And this in fact actually happened. Which is why so many counterfeits get slabbed as genuine coins. They fool collectors, they fool dealers, they fool TPGs. The only ones they don't fool are those who know the specific die diagnostics.
