Cap And Rays 8R With "c" Stamp

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Author	Replies: 2 / Views: 1,063
xlrcable New Member United States 47 Posts	Posted 06/14/2017 10:57 pm This 1894Ca 8R sold today on ebay and I'm curious about the "C" stamped on it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/29214268092...RK:MEBIDX:IT It caught my attention because of a bit of local history. The Chisos Mining Company operated a large mercury mine in the Big Bend region of west Texas during about the first three decades of the 20th century. The company had a practice of paying its workers with Mexican silver pesos, which it represented as dollar equivalents though it could buy them more cheaply; furthermore the only place nearby where such coins could be spent happened to be the company store. To prevent others from taking advantage of the system by bringing in their own pesos, the company stamped the ones they introduced with the letter "C". (My source for all this is mostly Kenneth Ragsdale's book Quicksilver.) I'd love to think the coin linked above might be one of these, figuring the word "peso" might have been defined loosely enough at the time to include the 8Rs. But this is probably a bit farfetched, and I won't be surprised if someone tells me there's an entirely different explanation for the mark. Report this Post to the Staff

Lucky Cuss Pillar of the Community United States 4883 Posts	Posted 06/15/2017 12:01 pm Quote: The company had a practice of paying its workers with Mexican silver pesos, which it represented as dollar equivalents though it could buy them more cheaply; furthermore the only place nearby where such coins could be spent happened to be the company store. To prevent others from taking advantage of the system by bringing in their own pesos, the company stamped the ones they introduced with the letter "C". Payment of workers in silver pesos (although not specifically the "C" countermark) is also documented in this summary of the company's history: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tsla...l-90007.html I see no reason why a slightly earlier 8 reales coin couldn't have been used in lieu of the equivalent un peso being produced at the time of the company's early operations. Your conjecture that the piece in question was paid out by Chisos Mining is not at all unreasonable, but likely not provable, either. Colligo ergo sum Report this Post to the Staff
xlrcable New Member United States 47 Posts	Posted 06/16/2017 2:34 pm Interesting reference, thanks. At least one other person found the piece interesting - I bid what I thought was about an ordinary price for that coin, but it sold for much more. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 2 / Views: 1,063

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