The Smaller Reales

I've got this 4 reales coin coming:
(well worn and holed but I'm fond of the 1776 date and I like the idea of these coins being well used)
And I really like the lion/castle design on the 1/4 reales but I think I need new glasses to better see the little things.

Crowns are were most of the "fakes" are at. And not all are caught.

Collect what is going to make you happy. I collect Spanish Colonial(Mexico), both emperial periods, the republic, and the revolution. To me grade is not a factor, it's just me enjoying something that has character and stories of all those who labored to have that coin.

I like the idea of collecting shipwreck coins also but they are really pricey I've found. And if they come with a COA now that piece of paper has to be kept someplace.

Okay, a broad discussion on a number of topics, so I'll just put in my Two Cents' worth

@Larryh8GT: what you have there is a nice collection just of what somebody might have carried in his or her pocket two centuries back. It just looks great as a group, except maybe for the holes which make my numismatic heart weep...

I also like the ones very much that come with merchant counterstamps. Some of the things or places advertised are simply hilarious!

But I also coincide with Westwood Arms - the 8 reales as a single coin are the best display of the design. A damage-free, attractively toned Pillar Dollar is simply a sight to behold, even if it's not uncirculated.

And MathieuMa - I also have a 8 reales from the 1715 plate fleet, with encrustations on one side, including little clam shells, and a nice cross on the other. Show that to the girl you take up to your room to show your collection to, and she'll see the pirate in you and not the coin nerd

There's just so much history in these items if you know how to spin a yarn

Holes and their positions are favorites of mine - perhaps because so many counterfeits had holes.

There are many reasons for holes. Native American cultures often displayed silver coins as a show of wealth - these seem to be pierced without regard to the orientation of the design.

Coins that were worn as jewelry will usually show wear traces at the point in the piercing where "gravity" dictates at the TOP.

Holes that are very sharp all around indicate that they were not worn or not worn for long. These are often cancellations which are holes made to STOP a coin for circulating.

Holes that are positioned so that the design is upright are usually display items - necklaces etc. Jewelry piercings are also usually smoother in general than cancellations with no metal curls remaining.

Some where the design is exactly upside down may be political statements. Unpopular Kings were often displayed UPSIDE DOWN.

Jewelry holes are often located very close to the rim. Holes further in or at the center are often cancellations.

Two holes or four holes can point to use as a button or a concho.

Square holes often made with a square cut nail can mean a "lucky piece". Many copper cents were nailed to beam rafters for luck.

I have also heard stories of using large cents as washers on ship bottoms and as gears after they were withdrawn from circulation.

Spanish American colonial silver coins may simply exist in larger numbers because silver coins are rarely thrown away.

A book on holes - might not sell, but I may tackle that in my book on C&R fakes that is temporarily on the back burner in favor of the Portrait 8Rs book.

Regarding the hole in the coin you posted - I notice a couple things. First the coin was pierced from the shield side to the Portrait side which caused an outward bend near the King's forehead. The other side might give a better idea as to the object that made the hole because the first impact is there. The impact also appears to have caused small cracks at both points of the penetration. The coin circulated AFTER it was pierced for some time because of the wear on the resulting high point.

Based on what I see of the shape - I suspect a double sided blade like a dagger may have been driven into the coin while it was on a substrate that had some give like wood. It could also be a hole made by an old hand wrought nail which were at times oval in cross section. Either way the visible side would have been the shield side with the hole near the X in REX.

Perhaps the coin was placed on a table and then pinned down with a knife blade for "effect". Perhaps in a game of chance by a soldier or an outlaw - the possibilities are endless.

Too bad Blackbeard and his kind were long gone by 1776.

I was talking with a dealer who specializes in Mexican coins. He said 1/2rs are scarrcer than people realize because of their use in jewelry, specifically bracelets. And this isn't from 200 years ago, well some of it was.

Until about seven years ago, a ton of the small Mexico coins went to the carribean area so whomever could make then into bracelets and sell to tourists. The premium over melt for the jewelry and proxemity to Mexico caused a lot of 1/2Rs to be holed.

Good "point" about the 1776 2R being pierced by some kind of knife.