Mexico (Spanish Colonial): silver 2-reales of Charles III, 1788-Mo FM, Mexico City mint

Mexico (Spanish Colonial): silver 2-reales of Charles III, 1788-Mo FM, Mexico City mint


Obverse: Armored bust of Charles III, right.
Reverse: Crowned shield flanked by pillars.

28.3 mm, .896 silver. Standards for the issue are 6.77 g, 0.1949 oz. ASW (figure a bit less for this well-worn example).

Krause-Mishler-88.2a, Numista-74745.

Struck at Mexico City ("Mo" mintmark), under the reign of Charles III of Spain.

This coin is in low grade (Fair-AG), and has a long but shallow hairline scratch across the bottom of the bust. While the scratch is definitely there, it is less visible at certain angles to the light (see alternate photo).

Overall it is an affordable colonial silver "two bits" piece ("pistareen") which still has some appeal, despite the issues. I found it in a "junk" silver lot in the summer of 2019, and in that regard, I think it was a good find. The dealer must have thrown it in there because of the scratch.

Sure, this piece has some issues, but these coins circulated very heavily in the Americas during the colonial era and in the early United States, and are often encountered worn flat, holed, or otherwise damaged. To find one with a readable date and mostly intact legends in a junk silver lot was fun.

 

Certainly wasn't bad for a melt bucket find.