Fake Or Real? Mexico 8 Reales 1821 Zs

If it's a counterfeit, I'd say at least it's not one of the more obvious ones.

What you need to do is first get an accurate weight for it, and then determine its specific gravity.

First off, I would note that the two coins were struck from different die pairs. A good sign is that the die punches used appear to be identical. There are finishing touches that differ (for example the strands of hair hanging down over his forehead and the tip of the ribbon) but the overall punch used for the King is the same. So the dies were most likely (barring a cast copy) to have been made in the same die shop.

There is evidence of a chipped die on the first coin and some odd die marks (a) right lower castle, (b) the E in REX and (c) The line under the portrait) which should be examined closely. These look only slightly suspect.

The edge of the first coin has been damaged (or appears to have been damaged) the figures are not sharply defined at the margins as if they were repeatedly hit.

The second coin has sharper much better looking edge with a clear overlap point. It is difficult to get the exact location of the lap point because the reverse face is not clear in the picture.



When taking an edge picture for purposes of authentication the lap point should be centered (the focal point of the shot), the edge relationship to the face of the coin (use the shield side typically because of the letters present.

The first edge photo would be perfect for that purpose if the lap point was centered on the picture - here is where I would love to see the lap.




Could I see the overlaps (2) for each coin? Ideally also include part of the same side of the coin in each photo so that the location can be identified exactly.

Collects82, please post a picture of the edge on the opposite side from the overlap that you have already shown us.

Are the newer reales more commonly faked more then older ones? This is the 2nd thread on them, and I have 2 of my own, but didnt pay too much for them, about 50$ each, but they are a 1802 and 1803. However according to the pricing guide, that is just how much they are worth.