I don’t know about the coin but I like the Alligator skin it is on. How do you get him to hold still?
This. It is not even remotely genuine, but rather a crudely-made counterfeit. But that’s not necessarily bad news. If it is a contemporary counterfeit from the late 18th or early 19th century, it might be worth as much as a real example of the coin it is imitating. What’s the diameter, Mark? It’s a cool piece, despite being as fake as the day is long. I would surmise that its very crudeness is a good sign that it’s a contemporary and not a modern fake, though that is mere speculation on my part. If intended to pass in commerce, it likely would have had a thin wash of silver or tin or mercury or something, to give it a silvery color. Such thin coatings did not always survive, particularly if the “coin” spent any time buried in the ground. This piece looks to have been struck(?) in brass.
Assuming it's about 25mm in diameter, it's a contemporary counterfeit of a 2 Real or "Pistareen." I can't make out what the date is supposed to be. Maybe 1791? The dies are unlisted in both Kleeberg's article and Lorenzo's supplement.
