Argentina 1815 8 Reales

I can't grade it but...Wow!! This is a Beautiful Coin!!!!

Frank

Jaobler That is a VERY nice looking original coin in my opinion. It is quite a rarity in almost any grade and I personally think Krause undervalues this series.

Regarding grade - this is a rather difficult type.

They come from the hand operated screw press days and they are almost never fully struck up. Planchets were not the best and centering the strike was by the eye of the fellow who risked his fingers by inserting the planchet between the dies. The rarity of high grade well struck coins is why the prices spike so significantly above VF. A very limited amount of wear over a poor strike makes some "technical" AU coins look Fine when graded by remaining details alone.

In discussions I have had with experts in the area, I have reached the personal conclusion that strike is critical to grading when hand made coins are considered.

Therefore a freshly struck coin that comes right off a hand press might NOT grade "Uncirculated" if the strike was incomplete. I know that may sound like an oxymoronic statement but I can't think of a better way to put it. I guess it is more tied to ultimte value. An MS coin with a 75% complete strike will be worth about the same as a coin worn to a similar 75% level - a VF coin.

Personally, I have never seen an 1815 that I would grade over VF because either the surfaces are degraded so there is no remaining mint luster or if the luster is partially intact the strike never brought the detail fully up.

Having said that, ANACS has in the past given MS grades to 8R Mexican coins that were NOT fully struck up. Most people familiar with the series will immediately see the problem. They are grading with a standard that applies to modern mass produced coins. The Argentine coins are far more like cobs when you grade them.

I hope this is clear - unfortunately I am leaving for a couple days and will not be able to add anything until my return.