What Happened To This 8 Reales

It appears to be a cast copy and not an authentic coin.

sqsme - Hello and welcome to the forum -

The outline of the King's head and the roman numerals that you are seeing on this coin were caused by a clashing of the dies before the original coin was struck. When dies come together without a silver planchet between them - they mash into each other and will transfer some of the details from one die onto the other. After that point in time, all coins made by those dies will show the effects of the clash.

In the days of the manually operated screw press - clashes were very common. Nearly every die pair was clashed at some point but many were repaired by filing off the clash features.

So the clash is rather normal.

However, based on what I can see in the scans, I can not be certain that you actually have an "original coin" made from clashed dies. You may have a copy (made by a transfer process) of a coin that was made from clashed dies.

I am concerned that you may in fact have a forgery because of some of the minor surface features. The fields of the coin do not seem uniform or flat. It has the look of a casting. It would halp a lot if we could see a higher resolution scan. If you have a scan too large to post perhaps you could send it to me by email.

Also there are a few things you should check to look for counterfeit features.

1. Weigh the coin on an accurate scale to 1/10th of a gram. In this condition, the 8R should still weight at least 26.4 grams NO LESS. Original 8Rs weighed 27.0 grams.
2. Check the edge of the coin. The edge should be a series of circles and rectangles - alternating. The figures should be identical in shape not irregular (allowing of course for damage). There should be TWO overlaps on the edge design exactly opposite one another. ONE overlap is an indication of FORGERY.
3. The edge was applied BEFORE the coin was struck in an open sided press, so make sure the edge does NOT crush any of the denticles around the perimeter.
4. Make sure the coin rings like silver - balance it on your fingertip and tap the coin with a wooden pencil. A silver coin rings - cast white metal does not - copper rings with a high pitch.

How many 8Rs do you own? I ask this because I am trying to determine just how familiar you are with the series. I have been collecting 8Rs since 1960 and specialize in COUNTERFEIT 8Rs.