1713 Circa Gold Spanish Colonial Coin Help

Hi,

I know this was a while ago. But I took it to the local coin shop. The guy weighed it and everything. It's an authentic 1713 1 Escudo, worth a minimum of $600. At least, that's what he said he would buy it for. He's a dealer, so he always buys for way less than book value.

Thanks though!

So what IS the weight of the piece?

And, you never answered... can you confirm that the holder you showed the coin in was indeed a 2-inch by 2-inch holder?

If it WAS 2" x 2" (and it looks like it from the dimension, etc. of what's in the photo)... again, there is very little chance that the piece is a "1 Escudo" denomination. The coin is simply too large in diameter to be a 1E... it would have to be 2E or even possibly a compact 4E.

So do you still have it? Would love to see better pics...

These are my photos of the coin. As I said, I'll get back to you later on your other questions.

OK, interesting... I'm going to hold off until I see the weight to say anything else. You really need the weight to the 0.1g; a basic kitchen-type scale may only do to the whole gram. That would tell us something, but not enough.

Also, of course, it would be best to weigh it out of the holder... otherwise we're semi-guessing how much that specific "coin flip" happens to weigh (speaking of that, do measure the holder to verify that it's 2" x 2").

ADVICE: Those staples were clinched close in to the coin slot - BE CAREFUL REMOVING IT SO YOU DON'T SCRATCH IT!! Just use your thumbnail to pry a staple loose (guiding it AWAY from the center) and then pull out carefully (that's what she said?). A staple remover would come too close to the coin, and one spazz move using a remover's teeth and you'd ruin the piece.

As far as pics... obviously this was better. Best would be like these BUT larger res. and sharper (macro lens or similar). Will see what the new set looks like. Keep in mind, not just trying to see what the piece generally looks like... you need crisp, clear photos of the surface to see what needs to be seen.

Also, I guess you shot them already, but... direct shots out of the holder (rather than under its plastic) would be best. There's something I'm looking at on the reverse side that I'd like to see more clearly, but the plastic is (possibly?) distorting the view a bit.

Well, my memory is crap I think. The guy at the coin shop must have said 2 Escudos, not 1. It was in a 1.5 x 1.5 inch holder, with the coin being less than an inch in diameter (though I only precisely measured the holder before I read your comment about measuring the diameter of the coin). Also, the coin is 6.9 grams, which is a bit more than the average 2 Escudos coin. The coin shop employee realized this as well, and he thought it might be a fake. However, after doing several tests, he told me it was authentic.

I remember him using some kind of scale to measure the gold in the coin.

If the LCS believes it to be genuine and offered you $300 or even $600 as you mention above, they are trying to steal it from you.
Please do yourself a favor and run any potential sales by a 2nd opinion before pulling the trigger.

Do you mean a desktop XRF machine - something like this below? They zap the coin and it gives you the proportion of each element/metal present. Did he mention the exact gold percentage?


So, the 21mm or so size is correct for what is in fact visible on the piece itself - a denomination of horizontal "II" for 2 Escudos. That 6.9g weight is at the high end of the range, but acceptable. The surfaces look proper... and we've been told it's actual gold. From everything we have here, I'm seeing a genuine piece.

The style is certainly Mexico 1711-1713... and 1713 specifically looks accurate. Curious that whoever marked the holder had the dating right but mismarked (or misread) the denomination.

This style/date of Mexico gold is almost certainly a find from the 1715 Fleet... and numerous replicas and/or fakes have been made of various 1715 Fleet gold (and silver) finds almost since they started bring it up in the 1960s. As such, you have to basically assume not genuine and work backwards to prove otherwise. In this case, I think we are dealing with a genuine piece.