What Is This Coin?

Looks like a Mexican silver peso that was holed to be a necklace. Or am I missing something?
John1

8 Reales - Durango KM 377.4 (In this condition, not worth $800, even if it's an overdate)

So far two critical observations have been made. I also have some questions that need answers - they will be in quote boxes.

The coin has been holed - unlikely for suspension because the hole would suspend the cap on its side and the eagle would be on his head.




The second observation that the coin was struck with just under a 90 degree rotation is also critical in my opinion.




I also have one fact that was disclosed about the coin in the description.

The coin is silver plated bronze.

Now what do you think?

It's a pattern. This one usually comes in silver-plated bronze (Sheffield plate), although it is known in white metal and silver (both very rare). The plated variety is plentiful as patterns go, maybe 32-64 known.

They are thought to have been struck in Spain.

I owned one briefly in 2012.

My last post was actually written prior to John's last post. So he has let the cat out of the bag.

Here are the facts about the coin:

1. It has a non-sense legend that reads A. Do 1840 O.M.C. - which no one noticed sorry to say.
2. It is made of Silver plated bronze according to the seller, however, based on the copy I own it is actually a Sheffield Plate over copper strike.
3. The hole is positioned like a typical cancellation mark not a suspension hole. My copy of this coin is also holed and in addition it was test cut. The hole in my coin is also eccentric.
4. The coin has an about 90 degree die rotation - which is common among counterfeits but rather uncommon for genuine coins.
5. The coin has very odd looking 1 punch and on my copy several letters appear to be repunched.
6. The lettering is poorly layed out - crowded near the date widely spaced in the assayer notation.
7. The coin has a distinctive eagle - rather attractive but never employed at any mint. While the upper portion of the eagle is attractive, the lower portion is not as well done. Notice the crude way the foot "grasps" the cactus with toes extended horizontally in a very unnatural pose.

For me the conclusion when I first saw this coin was both simple and obvious - the coin is a Contemporary Circulating Counterfeit. It looks like a typical counterfeit and in fact has many of the characteristics of a counterfeit.

But John has now identified the coin as a rare pattern made for Durango - which is how Krause and several other works portray the coin.

I ran into these same posts long after I had collected my example of the 1840 A.Do O.M.C coin. So imagine my shock to find that in my collection of counterfeits sat a Rare Pattern.




It didn't seem to fit the facts, so I did some research.

Here is one of the highest graded examples of this "rare" coin as it appeared in a Stacks Auction.






The coin is actually listed in several references, but some confusion exists. In Krause Fourth Edition 1801-1900 it is listed as:

Pn59 1840 Do 8 Reales Silver Plated Bronze no price.

Directly above the Pn59 listing and between Pn59 and the partial picture of the 1840 version is listed another pattern:

Pn57 1836 Do 8 Reales Silver $ 1,500.

Photos of all patterns are not given so I have to presume that the 1836 and 1840 Do patterns are unrelated.

The next entry is for PnA58 and Pn58 which might have been listed between 57 and 59 numerically except that PnA58 has an accompanying photo. Pattern PnA58 is a partially dated 184x Do in copper and Pn58 is listed as 1840 Do in white metal. Both of these are associated with a picture of a coin that uses the concave wing eagle seen on Guanajuato 2 reales.

We all know that Krause is noted for compiling errors, so I did more looking and found:

In 1967 Neil S. Utberg listed some patterns in his "Numismatic Sidelines of Mexico". Included is a picture of this same coin with a poor accompanying photo. The entry reads:

D6-3 Durango 8R Pattern . Milled edge. Silver. Proof.
* 8R A Do 1840 OMC 10Ds 20Gs This being the first year that three assayer initials used. Octavio Martinez de Castro. Use of "A" not known by me..... $ 250.

The coin is very reflective silver and appears to be high grade. Dies are the same. However, Utberg makes a statement at the end of his list of seven patterns that I find very interesting.




I think the 1840 A.Do fits into the counterfeit category because the coin is not beautiful - it is poorly finished - the dies were poorly punched and the surface were poorly ground before striking. Shiny or reflective does not mean the coin has a beautiful appearance. Anyone familiar with patterns will note that this coin does not look like a typical pattern.

I am concerned that a Sheffield plate coin has once again passed as silver and has been mistaken for a rare genuine issue.

Here is another instance where the coin was published:



Here the reference is different - there is a claim there are silver and white metal copies listed as PN48 and PN49.

So are there silver, white metal and silver on copper copies? Or is there one single type silver on copper Sheffield?

There is a Heritage listing as well:



And here is another from 2011:



Where are the others? All three copies I can trace seem to be silver on copper or bronze. John can attest to how often copper is misidentified as bronze.

I will address the problems with the die work in a subsequent post.

andyg Interesting comment about veneration. I am not aware of anyone who venerates the Mexican symbol or eagles as they would a religious icon. However, while an inverted suspension makes it easier to kiss the image right-side-up I would be more concerned that the inversion would be considered insulting or sacrilegious. The only other answer I have read for an inverted coin was as a protest with regard to unpopular French Kings.

TwoKopeiki Regarding Sheffield Plate - it does not work with bronze. Sheffield plate worked when the core metal was Copper or German Silver. The components did not expand and bend at identical rates with other alloys. Electro-plates on the other hand can use many different cores. Regarding the other facts - origin of the coin in Spain, the rarity of silver and white metal versions and the population of silver plated examples - where did they come from? Is it a conflation of other sources or from one definitive source?

Bob,

My information comes from a collector of mexican patterns, who's been researching them for close to 20 years. He doesn't post on these forums, but his handle at PCGS is pruebas. I will send him a note about this post and hopefully he can chime in.