Again About The 8 Reales 1770 Fm Mexico Coin (Comparison)

Your question is a good one. I will slightly re-phrase it.




I restated it this way because in my opinion the process of manufacture was responsible for what you are seeing.

The details were not erased while other areas were conserved - this is a situation where the detail NEVER existed.

The reason is simple - the silver flat stock from which these coins were made was rolled imperfectly on a manual rolling apparatus. The steps of the coining process started with a small ingot of silver cast at the mint. This was rolled out after heating on a small manually operated roller press. After several steps of heating and rolling a strip of silver the thickness of a coin is the result. This strip was ONE COIN WIDE in the case of a dollar.

After rolling the silver it was then drawn through a laminating slot to smooth the surfaces of the strip.

This small strip of metal was NOT always exactly uniform in thickness. The coins you have pointed out show WEAKNESS at points that are on the opposite sides of the coin in the SAME PLACE. The cause of the loss of detail was insufficient striking pressure to move the needed volume of silver into the part of the coin where the depression was located.

On a modern high pressure collared press the THREE DIES create a closed chamber in which the blank sits. When the dies come together the silver actually flows into the recesses of the die.

When there is NO collar the pressure simply does not develop.

This is why the weak spots move all over the surface of the coin and can happen anywhere. It has nothing to do with wear.

Now I want to contrast that with poorly designed dies like some early Lincoln Memorial cents where the weak spots were due to die design and depth.

The way to tell the difference is by looking at the coin very closely either in very clear photos or in person using a binocular microscope. To make this assessment it is essential that the person making the review understands how the original item was made and how counterfeits are made. In that way it becomes rather simple to differentiate between the good and the bad.

This is why I tell everyone who will listen to look at counterfeits, replicas and fakes on ebay. Start with the ones called fake and LOOK closely at them. Get to know what each kind of fake looks like. Then go to coin shops and shows where you can see other fakes in person. You need to know what the surfaces look like - what texture they display. You do not need to memorize every fake. They fall into several categories. A fake made by centrifugal casting looks like all others made the same way whether the coin is a 1780 MTT or a 1950 UK Crown or a 1580 German Taler. They will all look alike if made with the same process.

Then learn how the original coins were actually made and what those surfaces should look like.

Once you have done this process YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO THIS FOR YOURSELF.

When I first learned using this process it took me perhaps 2 years until I was decent, and 5 to be good. Confidence comes with TIME. Now that I have done this job for over 50 years I am very confident and usually very quick. I personally consider myself to be an expert but only within screw press coins. I am good with others but not expert.