:smile I finally got a Pillar Dollar for my collection. This is my first & only Pillar Dollar. I’m pretty sure it is real and I did get it from a reputable world coin dealer. Assuming it is real, I like what it looks like in hand. That is what really matters. The coin is 1771 Mo F.M. I understand this is one of the final years of the Mexican Pillar Dollar mintage. The photo was taken with the coin on red felt under Tungsten light. I think my camera did a good job reproducing how the coin appears in hand. How do you like it? Thanks for letting me share & I look forward to learning about your Pillar Dollars.
I'm not familiar with the diagnostics to determine if it is real or not, but it looks like a pretty nice specimen. Congrats! Chris
That one looks like a nice, representative example of this appealing coin - "Dos Mundos". Congratulations. In my opinion this is one of the most appealing coin designs ever. I have been leafing through Frank Gilboys book on Pillar Coinage which contains in depth information on this coin, its origins and the descriptions of the various mints which produced it in the new world. Recommended reading if you get the chance. What I would give to have a Santiago or Colombia 8 Reales Pillar in my collection!
Well she may not be much to look at anymore. But in her day, she was once a Columbian 8 Realies. Columbia = New Grenada, Bogota mint. Condor and Cornicopia.
That's a bit light, enough so that it would make me suspicious. They were quite strict with the weight on these and had a tolerance down to 4 decimal places. Maximum permissable weight was 27.2638gm. Mimimum weight permissable was 26.8646gm. I'd have to label it a possible fake based on this, assuming your scale is accurate. Take it to a jewelry store and have them confirm the weight.
By all means, confirm the weigth to be sure. Note however that (according to Gilboy) the average weight of Mexico City Columnarios in Fine to Very Fine condition was 26,6683 grammes.
Agreed- It is a possible fake. It certainly looks like a good example of a 240 year old Mexican coin. I have 6 coins I plan to send to NGC next week. This one will make it 7 coins. I'll post the results in about a month when we have the NGC opinion. I was thinking that by 1771, the guys making the silver blanks were probably pretty good at keeping them at the lower end of the weight tolerance. 26.78 grams is just a little too low. Thanks for looking everyone
Thanks for looking that up Eduard. As stated, the coin looks very nice in hand. I have high confidence in my 26.78 gram weight measurement. I used a Dillon gunpowder scale & verified the calibration with a 25.000 gram standard.
Thanks again for inspecting the coin with me last April I delayed sending the pillar dollar to NGC for quite a long time. I basically didn't need it to make NGC's five coin minimum until January 2012. It just came back 1771MO FM MEXICO 8R XF DETAILS SURFACE HAIRLINES. It is real & it is attractive.
I have two of these nice historic coins: Spain Pillar Dollar 1748 Mexico City 26.86gm Spain Pillar Dollar 1770 Mexico City 26.89gm "Pieces of Eight", beloved by pirates everywhere.
Wonderful Pillar dollar!:thumb::thumb::thumb: Here is mine 8-reales coin from Spain & 8-soles coin from Bolivia.
Hello :hail: Here are the 2 in my collection. To be honest, i suspect them to be fake...at least the non holed guy Enjoy them anyway:yes: Phil
