Mexico 4 Reales 1814 Gamr Possible Contemporary

The question that needs to be answered is what is the coin made of? The first step is to determine the Specific Gravity. Because it is a 4R and not an 8R the test will need a better quality scale to get an accurate result.

Since the weight is high and the coin shows wear - suspicion of a forgery or counterfeit is completely appropriate.

A contemporary counterfeit 4R has to be made with debased silver - there was no other mechanism by which a forger could make money. The date of the coin and the length of time this coin would have drawn NO ATTENTION in circulation precludes German Silver. I would estimate that it should be roughly 50-60% silver with the balance being copper and other trace elements.

A modern numismatic forgery could be composed of almost anything. Normally I would expect 900 fine silver for a high end forgery. If it is Chinese or eastern European it may contain no silver at all and it could be a modern alloy.

Swamperbob-Thanks for your response. The coin does have a bit of a coppery appearance, especially in the obverse field. It doesn't strike me as a modern piece since it does show some circulation wear.