I was wondering if anyone knew what the size tolerances were for the 8 reales? I have several and they range from an 1803 8R Potosi that is 41.5 mm in diameter to an 1808 8R Potosi that is 39.5 mm. The 1808 was struck a little off center, so I do not know if that contributes any to its smaller size. Just a random thought, Thanks!
Howdy 100mon - Welcome to the Forum !! If you have an interest in Spanish colonial coinage I would suggest a book - The Milled Columnarios of Central and South America - by Frank F. Gilboy. It is, in my opinion, the definitive work on the subject. To answer your question, size tolerance for the 8 reales varied somewhat depending on mint & date. But as a general rule it varied between 37.0 & 42.0 mm.
Hi, thanks for the reply and suggestion, although I hear that the book is rare and hard to come by. So hard that my local library (the largest public university library in the world, University of Illinois), does not have the book either. Is there another good reference out there?
While there were only 500 copies of the book ever published, it is not nearly as hard to find as the numbers might suggest. If you watch ebay you will find a copy comes up for sale often enough. A particular seller, Ponterio, bought quite a few copies of the book new and they offer one for sale every so often. Price will vary from $75 - $90. Now that may seem expensive, I assure you it is not. I own almost all other reference works on the subject of Spanish colonial coinage and all of them combined don't hold a candle to this book. If you have an interest in the older Spanish colonial cob coins, there is another book that is essential - Cobbs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins by Sewall Menzel. What Gilboy is for the milled coinage - Menzel is for the cobb series. And since his book was only published last year, I think, it is much easier to find - though more expensive if I remember right.
Yes you are correct it is very rare. There is a copy available on Amazon but the current asking price is ovcer $1400. I own a copy. Never will part with it. Only 500 printed.
