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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,057
socorban New Member United States 5 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 2:38 pm Hi all.... I'm new to this forum as you can see, but very happy I found a numismatist forum that people actually seem to know what they are talking about. I have been a passive collector all my life but only recently have I became serious about it. I am sure as I progress through my collection I will find more coins I have quandaries about and cant find viable info on, but for now here are shots of two I am having trouble with. The first above... I believe is a Spanish "real" (Think I spelled it wrong) I am trying to authenticate this coin. From what I understand some of the coins minted in this region and time frame are semi rare? The main issue here is the initials "MF" next to the shield. I have seen several variants of placement for these initials. Which if any placements are fake? Or more importantly.... is this one authentic? Secondly, I am at a total loss with this one below. I cant figure out where its from the even research the coin. On the date side it reads 1882, with the inscription "leopold II ROI -------- DFS Belges". On the following side it reads " L'union fait la forge" With "1 Cent" on the bottom. Currently these are the two coins I'm having trouble finding viable info on. Any info would be most appreciated. Regards, Mike Report this Post to the Staff

Archraz Pillar of the Community United States 3499 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 4:06 pm socorban- Well, your first coin is a bet problematic. While I do love coins of this sort, I am not the expert that "Swamperbob" has proven himself to be. It does appear to be an "8 Reales" from Mexico city. What troubles me most about this 8 is the rough, almost textured surface. Are you aware of this coin being salvage or from an excavation ? It just gives the coin an overall appearance that is a bit odd. Also, have you weighed the coin? When it comes to the overall alignment of the "MF" letters of the coin, I know that there were always variants in the exact positioning of some of the devices on this type of coin. Swamperbob is again your man when it comes to getting more info on this. Though no mintages are given in Krause for this year, the value of 8's of this date are the same as dates from other years that are known to be more common. So all in all, the "dos mundo" 8 Reales are quite scare (especially in the states), but it is not the rarest coin of the series. The second coin is a Belgian one centime coin. According to Krause (where is is KM 33.1) it has a mintage of five million, so it is rather common. Report this Post to the Staff
socorban New Member United States 5 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 4:23 pm Thanks for your reply. Actually the Spanish coin am am unsure of its origin. I actually found that one like a buried treasure. I was out metal detecting in an abandoned town in the middle of nowhere just off an old railroad bed. I uncovered a small metal "lock box" about a foot down. The box wasn't big, maybe 6' by 10' or so, but it was filled with some incredible items. Many coins, a few of what seemed to be pieces of jewelry that turned out to be close to an ounce of gold in total., and many other odd things, the most peculiar of which was a masonic order pendant with a date of 1801, initials T.F, and many interesting symbols inscribe on the back side. Needles to say, this coin was among the items found. I have since posting this found a bit more info thanks to this site. What has me curious now is the ridge line on the side of the coin. There is a small line encompassing the outer ridge of the coin. From what I understand, this sign, in some not all coins is indicative of a fake, but not necessarily so. I am not as seasoned as others in this field yet so I am having a hard time authenticating this one. : Oh, and it weighs 18.3 grams I think it was. Edited by socorban 06/03/2008 4:27 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Archraz Pillar of the Community United States 3499 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 5:00 pm 18.3 grams is WAY too light. It should be about 26 or so. This makes it sound like a fake. Just for curiosity sake, can you post a pic of the edge? Report this Post to the Staff
socorban New Member United States 5 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 5:15 pm Yeah I'm thinking its fake but I want to be certain. Below is a shot of the edging. Report this Post to the Staff
Archraz Pillar of the Community United States 3499 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 6:01 pm yeah, that definitely is a seam from a cheap casting. That coin is certainly a fake. I just wonder if the person who hid it in the box knew that it was a fake. Report this Post to the Staff
socorban New Member United States 5 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 6:37 pm Yes I figured it was. Odly, it is the only coin out of the many others that turned out to not be authentic. As far as the original owner.. I know the area was a nice mining town before the depression. Something happened to cause the mine to close, hence closing that railway and shortly after the 2 towns located near the mine became abandoned. I am unsure of the exact dates this all transpired however. Report this Post to the Staff
Archraz Pillar of the Community United States 3499 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 11:44 pm hmm that is very interesting since it would indicate that the box and coins had been buried before the depression. It is just odd that there would have been a fake 8R in someone's possession back then since the production of fake 8's (for the purposes of fooling collectors or for production as souvenir copies) did not really start until the mid part of the 20th century. Thanks for sharing this story. It has proven to be fascinating. Report this Post to the Staff
socorban New Member United States 5 Posts	Posted 06/03/2008 11:50 pm Like I said... to my knowledge it was cleared out before then. But that was word of mouth, and to be honest I'm still too young in comparison to have a clue. I don't even know what the towns were really named to even look them up to find out. I only knew they were there becuase my mother used to take us hiking back those old beds when I was younger. But that's interesting to know, that definitely put whoever buried it at that area much later in date than I assumed. Thanks for the info. Report this Post to the Staff
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