1811 8 Reales I Think Froom Peru

Yes, the mint mark indicates Peru. I've seen this particular type referred to as having an "imaginary" portrait.

Again, there appears to be a chop at the bottom of the reverse, which is a little unusual since generally 8R's that found their way into Chinese commerce came from Mexico.

At first this coin did not make it into my "to buy" stack, because of the damage.
But for this purchase I tried to pick four coins that were different.
Maybe that was not the best choice.

I am hoping the NTR test for these coins turn out to be good.

I am thinking they will end up in my small silver treasure chest. They
might look better in there than in 2x2's and sitting in a box.

GR58 You said:




The NTR machine - was it capable of detecting Gold (Au) and Arsenic (As) as well?

If it was set to detect those two elements and did not detect one or both at a level exceeding 0.2% - than the coin is NOT a coin that was actually manufactured in Peru in 1811.

There was no place on earth that could produce 99.9% fine silver at an industrial level in 1811. In a laboratory (where advanced science was beginning) it was possible to produce purer silver but only at an expense that exceeded the value of the metal.

That is precisely why when you encounter pure silver dated before 1850 (for silver recovered from lead) or 1870 (for the non lead ores found in Nevada). Those two dates fix in time the points when 99.99% fine silver could be economically produced on an industrial scale.

So check with NTR and determine if they included As and Au in their search.