Mexico 8 Reals Portrait Coins

Hello Epop - It is basically impossible to be 100% certain from pictures of this quality. What is needed are clear photos taken at right angles to the coin of both faces. Then you can move in and take in focus photos of sections of the coin that can be blown up to many times the size of the original. Edge pictures would be helpful - those should all be taken all the way around and show the edge as well as ONE face of the coin for purposes of exact orientation. A 20-30 degree angle is best.

Also as Lucky Cuss indicated the exact weight of the coins would be very helpful and Specific Gravity if possible.

Still waiting epop

The coin absolutely matches the matrix used to manufacture dies of that era. The alignment is accurate meeting Mexico City standards. The only two alignment issues are contained in the date and the King's name. The 8 is slightly low but the other digits are radially aligned including the 5 which is often tilted counterclockwise on forgeries but is correct here. The D in FERDIN is rotated clockwise but the rest of the alignments are nearly perfect. The die appears to be genuine. It could also be a recently made copy of an original coin.

This gives rise to only two possibilities a genuine coin or a counterfeit made using some sort of transfer process.

I noticed some high point surface cracking that likely traces to the laminating process. This appears only on the low pressure struck areas of the portrait (the highest point of the standard camber). That means the planchet production, die camber and strike is close to standard. Lamination lines that occur predominantly in the fields at HIGH pressure points are a clue to a forgery. Here the lamination is far less pronounced and is confined to a completely appropriate area of the coin. They should be examined to determine if they were closed by the strike or if they were in place on the die or mold that could have made the coin.

I did notice some odd looking surface lumps which should be checked very closely. The origin of these lumps need to be determined.

So what I can say at this point it this appears to be neither a Class 1 or Class 2 counterfeit. They are close to being ruled out entirely by the technology used and the historical reasons behind counterfeit production.

I would still examine the edge to insure a period edging mill was employed and that the dies used to edge the coin were made properly and the application was done correctly - two overlaps of equal length exactly opposite one another of the identical length.

The weight and Specific Gravity measurements should also be made.

The final step is to examine all of the elements at once and to determine the most likely Classification. It is most likely a decision can be made without XRF.

I hope this helps. As you can see the method I use is based on a preponderance of evidence. Once a majority of the facts point to one answer that is most likely you have the correct one.