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Replies: 39 / Views: 4,276 |
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Valued Member
 United States
442 Posts |
Ok thank you so you do think it is real then and that's not bad I only paid $25 at the coin shop today for it
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Valued Member
 United States
442 Posts |
And can anyone tell me what the counter stamps on the front are?
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Pillar of the Community
France
1591 Posts |
Can you post the picture of the other side of your coin ? And if possible, the rim as well. I'm not sure it's genuine or not.
And even better, remove it from the holder before taking the picture, if possible :)
The prices you mention are for earlier coins of this type - for Carolus III for example (or coin in excellent quality)
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Valued Member
 United States
442 Posts |
Ok we'll I'm at school right now but can post the pic of the front that I already have and when I get home I will take it out of the holder and take better pics 
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New Member
United States
38 Posts |
The stamps on the obverse are chopmarks - this coin has spent time in the Far East. The marks were applied by merchants when they determined that the coin was made of good silver. Many of these coins (as well as US Trade dollars) have dozens of chopmarks on them. Nice coin, especially for the price.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
Nice coin.
This coin was called a pillar dollar. When our country was new, we did not have enough coinage to conduct normal business. So our government made Spanish coin legal tender, until ... I think 1858. Spain controlled several countries at that time, so this Mexican 8 Reale would have been legal to use in the United States of America, before 1858.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36905 Posts |
I think the reason you got the coin cheap was that it had a hole in it at the 12 O'Clock position and it has been filled. Not a bad job but the color and lack of detail is the tip off.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1801 Posts |
Your coin is a Portrait Dollar, not a Pillar Dollar. If real is was minted in Mexico City when that area was a Spanish Colony. While listed in the guide books under Mexico it is technically a Spanish Colonial Coin. As mentioned by MathieuMa earlier, we need very clear images of the edge design all around the coin to help determine the authenticity of the coin. Many counterfeits exist and I have seen them in holders like your as well as in other "promotional packaging". Most coin store owners would be hard pressed to make positive ID on a counterfeit unless they specialize in this type of coin, I give no opinion myself on your coin without clear pictures of both sides and the edge. If you paid $25 you did fine, silver value probably exceeds that since the coin is approx .79 oz of silver.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1962 Posts |
jfransch, that specific promotional packaging is one of those "Postal Commemorative Society" holders that I've railed about b4... MOST of what I've seen in those holders (where clear photos were given) has been bogus. With better photos, swamper would be able to give a good technical breakdown, but I'd assume the worst here. From what I can see here, I especially don't like the rim area at 9;00 obverse.
J, one note on nomenclature: As I'm sure you'll recall, "Modified Pillar Dollar" used to be a common name for these (contrasting against the true Pillar and globes style 8 Reales... You see don't that term used much for these any more - it's now Portrait 8R or Bust 8R.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5362 Posts |
An original 1807 Mo TH 8R is worth about $50 in this grade - but there is always a possibility that the coin is NOT real.
There are 7 known die pairs made prior to 1830 which were used to make debased counterfeits another 4 die varieties made after 1830 that were struck in full assay silver and one recently made Chinese forgery of the coin which is also full weight silver.
1807 was a popular date for US forgers. To be certain you would need to die type the coin against all the counterfeit varieties and check the details to see if it was made correctly.
The first question with an 8R is always:
Does the coin have TWO overlaps in the edge details that are exactly OPPOSITE one another?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1801 Posts |
Realeswatcher, I have always known these coins as Portrait dollars, I am not familiar with the term "modified pillar dollar" however people have been calling them "pillar dollars" since I began collecting them around 1972. The available reference books at that time (Harris "Pillars and Portraits",and Bruce "Standard Catalog of Mexican Coins" referred to them as "Portrait" and "Bust". The other popular reference book, Elizondo "Eight Reales and Pesos of the New World" gave them no name that I can recall. The collector that got me started taught me they were "Portrait Dollars" so that is how I have always referred to them. However anyone can call them anything they want, I am certainly not the final say. Whatever they are called, I love them and will always be a collector of them. And I agree with you, the one in question makes me nervous, seen many questionable coins in those holders
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Valued Member
 United States
442 Posts |
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Valued Member
 United States
442 Posts |
That's the best pic of the rim I could get but I can try to post better ones later
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Valued Member
United States
110 Posts |
Extremely interesting coin. I've got a fondness for old Mexican silver. It just seems right, since Mexico is such a silver rich area.
I have no opinion on whether it's real or not. However with the price you paid, you're well ahead of the game. Good for you.
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Valued Member
 United States
442 Posts |
Hum I just checked back on this thread and noticed that one of the pictures is not the one I posted but has changed when I posted that pic on another thread. Very odd!
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Replies: 39 / Views: 4,276 |