In Praise Of The "Cap & Rays" 8 Reales

I was reflecting this evening on why I've come to like the Mexican "cap & rays" 8R series so much.

Earlier today, I got to look through the backstock of "cap & rays" 8R's (some of which may never make into the display case) at one of my favorite shops, The fact is, even dealers who don't just "wholesale" these out aren't always all that knowledgable about them. For example, as I was perusing theirs, I came across a few I thought to be counterfeits (all of which I deemed modern rather than contemporary), but I could only convince them on one of those, only because it was undeniably, obviously a casting. And the fellow there who's the shop's "expert" on these didn't know about the "dragon's teeth" and the standardisation of the dies they represent. So here I am (and I consider myself still a real neophyte in the field), explaining this to him.

But that's why I've gotten more and more into these. You can find lots of folks who've got, say, Morgans down pat, but those who know their stuff on "cap & rays" 8R's are much harder to find. You have to be especially sharp and self-reliant to avoid making costly mistakes with these. I realize that the type is a collecting backwater, but it's also really challenging, with all the mints, die varieties, overstrikes, perhaps even some restrikes, not to mention the crudely produced ones, the enormous number of outright fakes, and those used in the China trade to boot. A real collection of this genre tends to be a bit "organic" and probably never complete. Plus, unlike with a lot of other coins, it doesn't seem to be so bad if the condition isn't all that good.