1811 Zacatecas Lvo Contemporary Counterfeit

Another example, sold by Cayon in 2014. "Could" possibly be the original host coin, but not certain.

Wondering if this LCM stamp is also a counterfeit stamp? Will check over the next week. Interesting post 3/50!

There are a few on Heritage that I suspect are CCCs. I will post a few screenshots when I have a chance to do a detailed look and comparison with Ramirez's reference book.

That LCM stamp IMO is also bogus with the double C and right upright recut 'L' - not seen in any other recorded specimen in my reference library specimen of previous LCM auction specimens (~18 different types) along with this bogus CCC host.

Congrats! I put in a few early bids for that one, nice coin. My opinion is that it is genuine. I still need to sit down and look through the Heritage coins you linked in detail.

The 1811 1/2 reale LVO arrived. It appears to have been gold plated at one time. It is 0.4 grams heavier than a normal colonial 1/2 reale. With cross lighting the full peak outline can be seen but it is weak at the top.The lettering is strong and it's well centered. It looks struck rather than cast.

The next time I go to the local coin shop I'll get an XRF.

The XRF might be able to sort that out. I'll soak it in water to see if it comes off. It's on both sides in the center, not what I'd expect for someone cementing the coin to a surface. I wonder whether someone might have tried to pass it off as a 1/2 escudo.

The two Heritage 1/2 reale LVO's don't show weights. There's an ebay 2R LVO listed right now that's significantly overweight.

Water soaking removed the yellow residue on the coin. The peak and shield are now better defined.

I got an XRF today. 100% silver. I was worried about the coin being debased, not excessively pure. Here's my theory. Zacatecas had very sophisticated silver refining and smelting capability in 1810, but Mexico City did the alloying and coinage. The new Zacatecas government was left with coining their refined silver. I have not been able to find records for silver purity for Zacateca's Patio process, but a Patio silver bar from Gould and Curry in 1860's Virginia City has a marked purity of 96.8%. The rest of the jump to 100% maybe due to surface oxidation. Or possibly due to the higher purity of Spanish silver. Atocha ingots are typically 99% or above.

The people at the shop said send it in and get it slabbed.