Old Mexican silver (real/centavos) questions

Hi, I am new to coins and had a few questions about some older Mexican silver (1700, 1800, 1900 reals/centavos). I'm sorting through a large collection with the goal to sell most of it, but I'm trying to figure out exactly what I have before I do so. Here are some questions that have come up along the way, any help you could offer is appreciated.

1) I see there is an error 1 peso coin (1903 Mo AM) and my book gives no decription of the error. I have a 1903 Mo AM with a double stamped date? Is this "the" error the book is likely describing or is this just a stamping variation?

2) When a coin is described as having a "re-engraved date", what does that mean and how does it affect the coin's value?

3) I have an unlisted coin: 1/2 real 1869 Go YF. Is this coin scarce or is this just a printing typo in the book I'm using?

4) A couple of the coins have solder on the back (metal previously used to attach it to another object). How badly does having residual solder on a coin affect the value.

5) Any general comments on how best to sell off a large collection of older spanish silver are welcome. I'm currently using ebay to "test the waters" but didn't know if there were other coin sites or venues I should be considering.

Thanks, David

 

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What book are you using? It sounds as if you have a Krause Standard Catalog. Is that correct?

In order to see the differences among "die doubling" "recut dates" and "die chatter" you have to know something about the process of creating dies and striking coins. Then, based on that, you have to know what you are looking at. In short, someone has to see the coin, though it may be that an expert can tell from your description. Also, there are other books specifically about Mexican coinage. You might have to hunt one down and read it in Spanish.

It means that a die engraver retooled the numerals, either making them bolder and stronger, or changing them into other numerals. Such coins are true varieties and may command a premium -- unless of course such coins outnumber the others of the same date.

It depends on which book you are using, of course. Even so, the Casa de Moneda produced an astronomically huge volume of coinage. Not every variety can be listed in a general catalog and not every variety was discovered when the catalog was printed.

Such coins are junk, ruined, worthless. That said, there are many rarities known only in that condition and as much as we wish they were not damaged, damaged they are. In the standard reference, Greek Coins and their Values by David Sear, the plate coin for Athens, a large silver dollar size dekadrachma has an ugly test cut right in the middle. Darn. Rare and valuable, this is still a museum piece today. More commonly, U.S. $1 gold and $3 gold, etc., also have solder and other problems. The coins are rare enough and demanded enough that knowledgeable collectors pay well for them -- though not as much as for an undamaged example. For a common coin in common grade, solder is bad news.

Well, eBay is America's favorite marketplace. There are dealers who specialize in Spanish American issues -- Ponterio, for instance, an ANA member, and I believe also PNG, very respectable -- and you could wholesale to them. Also, there are two coin newspapers, Coin World and World Coin News. Coin World is a general topics news and features weekly, the largest in the business with nearly 100,000 subscribers; 100 pages each week. Their classified ads are cost-effective for many sellers. They are considered a trusted venue by buyers. World Coin News is smaller, a monthly with fewer pages and far fewer subscribers (10,000 or below, I believe). However, it is more focused on non-American coins. Again, its classifieds are a traditional marketplace. World Coin News is a Krause publication and Krause also has a general interest paper, Numismatic News. Again, smaller than Coin World, one of the draws for Numismatic News is that subscribers who are not professional dealers get one free classified ad per week.

 

Mike,

Thank you for your information. I should have mentioned, the guide I am using is the "2005 North American Coins and Prices: a guide to US, Canadian and Mexican coins" ISBN# 0-87349-797-X

In this guide, it lists an error 1903 Mo AM with quite some value ($1,500 to $7,500). I was hoping this would be a well known error to some one here. I should rephrase my question: Does this error have to do with the way the numerals in the date were minted?

And of course, any other answers to my questions are welcome.

Thanks again.

 

Welcome aboard David.

Even with its errors and omissions, the Standard Catalog of World Coins by Krause & Mishler is far and away the most complete and comprehensive guide to world coinage. For the purposes of identifying coins a current edition isn't necessary, and to completely cover your collection you need to consult three of the four telephone book-sized volumes. One or more may be available at your local public library, directly or through inter-library loan; and you can frequently find used copies for sale on EBay, or at Amazon or Barnes & Noble's used book sections.

Happy hunting!

 

Thanks for everyone's advice. Here is a link to a photo of the 1903 Mo AM 1 peso coin in question. Click to open the "coins" album and there dhould be three pics of it. It seems like it is a simple double stamp variation but let me know if you think otherwise.

Link: http://photos.yahoo.com/prenumbra2007

I may post a few other coins in which I am unclear of their identification under a seperate topic listing in these forums as well. Thanks again.

 

You have the common variety.

The answer to the error question can be anwered by looking at the picture of the type shown in the Krause book. It is of the error variety (at least in the 2005 book) On the error the coiners initials AM are shown on the coin as MA.

 

Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

 

Seing is believing it. These are some very unusual errors in Mexican coins, these are early errors, not the 1970's - 1990's that are as common as they are priced between 3 and 5 dollars. These are the ones you should look for.