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Message:: [QUOTE="ASUtodd, post: 316793, member: 11382"]No its contemporary.  Here let me post what an expert in this field has told me about this piece.This is from a guy names SwamperBob from another forum.  He is in the process of updating several books on the 8 Reales and their counterfeits.  "Very nice "Birmingham style" Sheffield Plate counterfeit of a Mexico City 8R. It appears to be silver over copper (which was typical) and the silver layers are heavy indicating it is fairly early. As they developed more proficiency with the process the silver layer got thinner. The older heavier plates tend to show more large scale peeling like I see here. The nature of the core can be guessed at based on the green verdegris I can see on the surface of the core. The hole in this case is unlikely to be for suspension. It is far more likely to be a period cancellation. These forgeries were kept on chains or rings in banks so that tellers could refer to known BAD copies for comparison. The date is not in the 1798 list of known forgeries attributed to the British government made at Birmingham, but the general style and method of manufacture places it within the overall category. Even with the drill hole the coin is worth a bare minimum of $50 to a collector - so you got a super deal. I would like to see the others as well."[/QUOTE]