I'm new to this forum and recently started collecting again after a long hiatus. The reason for posting is what I believe to be a 1 reale Lima Peru cob minted in 1721 that I recently picked up and appears to contain a few anomalies. Namely, the orientation of the castle towers and lions on the coat of arms with respect to each other and to the assayer's mark and mint mark. For the purpose of reference, I'm using the base of the tower in the coat of arms as a zero degree orientation reference point. If you examine the photo, the lions are rotated 90 degrees clockwise to the tower orientation. Additionally the "L" mint mark and the 'M" assayers mark are located 90 degrees counterclockwise to the orientation of the towers. Any way you slice it, the identifying components are not pointing in the right direction. I'm much more familiar with milled coinage and and understand that cobs are a bit more crude, however, these irregularities appear to be something that early 18th century quality control should not have missed. Could this be a period counterfeit? Any knowledge and feedback is welcome Thanks
I'm far from an expert, but that looks fake to me. The wear doesn't look "natural" to me. It just doesn't look right. I hope for your sake that I'm wrong and/or that you didn't pay too much for it. Rob
welcome Hispanicus ... I hope that you become a regular on this sweet coin-site => ummm regardless, that is a very cool lookin' example ... sadly, I gots nuthin'!! Hopefully somebody with some skilz will chime-in shortly? (they're usually pretty damn clever!!) ... good coin-luck, my new coin-friend oh, and I love the background table (very cool)
It appears to be gilded, with the metal underneath a duller color. It's not a question of "is it authentic", it's a question of "is it a contemporary counterfeit or modern?", as it seems you already realize I'm inclined to think it's "modern", though perhaps 19th century. Contemporary counterfeits were intended to fool people familiar with using the coins on a daily basis, which this one never would.
All, This is helpful feedback. I am also thinking that it could be a 19th century counterfeit. Weighing it might reveal if it is gilded as suggested by Numismat. This piece is a good lesson in taking a closer look at what is actually on the coin. Thanks again. Hispanicus
