Found a very old coin

I dug up what I believe is a Spanish piece of eight. Dated 1736. Can make out enough details such as the lettering around the edges, that I was able to research it and verify what it is. I don't have a picture of it to put up yet, but I will attempt to take a clear one as best I can. However, in the condition it's in, you have to use a magnifying glass or hold it up at a certain angle to see certain parts clearly such as the date which has made my initial picture attempts fail to produce anything that can show the detail clearly.

My question is, is it worth anything in such degraded condition? For example, it has an indentation in the center of one side, almost like it was stuck with a knife. Not sure if this is a natural occurrence on such a coin or if it means anything.

Sorry to be so vague at the moment. It will be better when I can post a pic of it and more details of what is actually on the faces of the coin. I don't have it in front of me at the moment but there are letters and numbers ( an .8 if I recall correctly is one) in a sort of grid on the one side and two castles and two lions? in a sort of quadrant spacing on the other side. I can read the motto which has the word Rex in it and a name and the word Hispaniola or something like that.

Any clues?

 

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Welcome to the forum!! I am far an expert but pics are a necessity for the pros to evaluate your coin.

 

First, don't clean the coin.

Compare it to other coins, if it is as big as a silver dollar it's an 8 reale. As big as a half dollar 4 reale, quarter sized two reale and etc.

If it is real it is worth it's weight in silver. Depending on the date, mint and condition it may be worth more.

 

thanks! yep, I understand that, and will try to take a good picture, it's just that so far, every picture I've taken is either too blurry or fails to capture the detail. I'll try again and as soon as I get something clear enough, I'll post it. But as I am traveling right now, it's going to have to wait a few days until I return.

The only cleaning I did was rinsing it with water to clean off the soil. By the size I'd say it sounds like a 4 reale. However, it does has the number 8 on the back if that means anything.

OK - Pics uploaded from what I have, not the best I'm afraid.

 

ugh, hope not! How could I tell if real vs. fake? I noted it is 33 mm in diameter. Can also weigh it if that helps.

 

Here is a cob 8 reales coin from 1736 for comparison

http://www.rubensteincoins.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=61

 

It's hard to tell, but this piece could be smaller due to stripping around the edges. A lot of coins where shaved around the edge with the shaver taking the excess silver for their own pocket and passing on the shaved, less than 8 piece onto the next schmuck. So, I wouldn't expect it to be all fully there considering the date. I think you could best find out about it by weighing it and seeing how it weighs up to a real Piece of 8.

BTW, a lot of these coins where cut or chopped in half or quarters to make change, spur of the moment. So, finding one in its entirety is a good thing.

But, I'm not expert on old spanish coins.

 

thanks! mine appears flatter and more readable than the image above, has the same diameter but weighs 11.4 g

 

I originally dug this coin up in my backyard in Florida. So I always thought it would be a bit strange to find a fake coin buried 12 inches down in the ground where a real coin like this could possibly have been dropped. But there's a lot about this coin that over time has begun to really ring fake about it. One, I dropped it on the table and it was more thudlike than a silver coin ring. Two, the weight is definitely almost half off, and the diameter seems definitely smaller yet all of the expected writing is there which means it probably wasn't cut down. But most of all, I tested it out on a newer metal detector that I now have... one that can distinguish the type of metal visually... and while it correctly picked up a silver dime as silver...this coin registered as nickel, zinc or bronze. I think that the evidence at this point is compelling. Sigh.

 

It'll make a great conversation piece though.