I wanted a sample Pillar Dollar (8 Reales/Piece of 8) for my dollar type set since, among other things, they were widely circulated and legal tender in the US until the Coinage Act of 1857. I tend to make up my own rules for my type sets, usually with an historical hook of some sort. Picked this one up, milled in Mexico in 1759, from Northeast Numismatics at a fair price just because I liked the way it looked. The grader must have been in a bad mood as there are minimal hairlines even at 10X. The details, even on the rim, are really quite nice. Amazing what was minted consistently for so many years from 1732 until 1826. During the Continental Congress of 1776, Thomas Jefferson suggested we adopt the 8 Reales as the official dollar of the new country. When the U.S. Mint finally did start minting dollars in 1794, they were closely modeled after the weight and size specifications of the 8 Reales. One day I'd love to add a Continental and a Gobrecht dollar to my custom type set.
Very nice coin! Is "surface hairlines" code words for improper cleaning? I don't think I've ever seen that qualifier before.
It's a beautiful example of an historically important coin. I know these get counterfeited, so I agree with buying an authenticated example. Beyond that, who cares what the grader thinks?
always wanted one. the chinese counterfieted them so much..lol.. i gave up got the 1988 repro= pattern set ill find it and snagg a pic later
In a word - yes. It's pretty common actually - https://www.google.ca/search?q=coin...X&ved=0CEEQsARqFQoTCP3Q8trEj8cCFQnOgAodIn0I3Q
