20021sc Regarding the eagle's feet and the cactus pads - that depends on the date and mint. Some mints used numerous die punches to create the dies while others used King punches, partial hubs or full hubs. There is no text that covers this subject completely. The closest is Resplandores by Mike Dunigan. You need this book before you buy Cap and Ray coins. There you will find a picture of 1400 mint & assayer combinations. He includes notes on design types that can be clues to how dies were created. He also often indicates when hubs are first used at each mint.
Starting with his book you can get to know when most major technological shifts took place. Using the pictures you can see some of the variation. Next go to a website like Heritage where you can see high grade pictures of each coin. Focus on the transitional periods first so you understand what changed.
You really need to become familiar with each period to be sure. For early coins that means each date individually. It is a lot of study but without it you will always need to ask questions like the eagle's foot. The best way to determine the ways dies were made is to start with pictures of say 10 examples of a specific date and mint. Then check Resplandores to try to pick up clues there. Then study the details of each coin to see what varies. If a detail is EXACTLY the same on all 10 that detail is likely on a single punch.
Some mints used one punch for the eagle (it was referred to as a King Punch). It was set first and the rest was added around it. To set a king punch requires more power than a smaller punch. The king punch was set normally on a screw press of the same type that was used for coining. The operation was done more slowly and usually needed several presses to complete. Then the partial die went to die setters to add smaller punches and details. Zacatecas was one mint where they went from full eagle punch to partial and back to full a couple times. Guanajuato did the same. It depended on who ran the mint. At times a mine owner leased a mint to make coins at other times the State government or the central government controlled the mints. Dunigan provides a very helpful list of these contracts.
On early Durangos - 1825-1832 the dies vary considerably. This could be a decades long study by itself. Dunigan notes three "Die Styles" 1825-1827, 1827-1929 and 1830-1832. In 1832 Dunigan discusses the introduction of hubs. The early Die Styles contain variations. The 1825-1827 Style contains a significant number of variations which some people list as varieties. Some of these variations Dunigan notes but not all. Dunigan lists only two varieties for 1825 the examples with a period between REPUBLICA and MEXICANA and the eons that have no period. He does indicate more than one eagle punch is used for 1825 and that there are variations in the cactus pads that need to be studied, but in these cases he does not refer to the differences as varieties.
What Dunigan does not list can be very surprising. One example is that there are variations in the number of rays on the Cap from 27 to 31. In addition to number of rays, the ray arrangements vary wildly. On the eagle die the laurel and oak leaf arrangements differ die to die significantly, including one die that has a branch with three leaves across. The only example I am aware of from any mint.
In 1826 Dunigan indicates there are still multiple eagle punches used, but lists only one variety the over date.
Dunigan reports overdates in 1826 and 1827 but does not report other recut elements - he rarely mentions a repunch unless it is very wide and he misses some letters placed over inverted letters.
These minor varieties you get to know only with time. These varieties can be common, rare or very rare but there is not yet an existing market differential in price. Most collectors keep the variations to themselves.
So you need to look at and retain photos of all the different dies you encounter. Watch
ebay and other auction sources and compare them with your library of pictures. No one even Mike Dunigan can afford to buy every different variety because there are simply too many.
The earliest dates are the most interesting.
In 1832 Durango began using nearly full hubs. The working dies were prepared by pressing the hub dies into master dies several times. So after 1832 you can look for multiple hub impressions. You can also look for die repairs which create variations. The only variation seen on hubbed dies will normally be very minor details. The original hubs sent from France were Dated 1831 RL. So all dies beginning with 1832 are hub over date and over assayer types. The 2 covered the 1 and the M covered the L. The over punches were done die by die so positions vary and the amount of the under letter varies as well. At some point the hubs themselves were modified. When?
Even though these are hubbed dies there is one item that always varies. The crest on the eagle. The original hubs (believed to be at least two pair) had one eagle with no crest and one with a small crest. The mint officials knew the eagle (actually a Caracara) was illustrated with a prominent crest feather (see Durango Hookneck issues). So as a result you see the feather was added to most dies. Some of the crest feathers are short, long, heavy or thin. I think of them as sub-varieties because hubbed coins have no varieties theoretically. There are also some dies where cactus spines were added or strengthened.
For 1834 Dunigan illustrates a coin with a different eagle. The head is completely unlike the hub. I have yet to find one - but I wonder if a counterfeit slipped in accidentally or if a hubbed die was repaired. Either way a different die pair.
When John Riddell wrote his book in 1845 about circulating counterfeits he also noted the 1832 Do coins with and without the crest feather. He went so far as to indicate the missing crest was enough to diagnose a counterfeit. He was actually incorrect on that point. The situation was more complex. In 1832 there are two counterfeit varieties made of Sheffield plate where one has a crest and one does not. There are also genuine issues with and without a crest. So it was not quite as easy as Riddell thought. The same thing happened in 1834. So crest feathers are very interesting on the French hubbed coins from Durango.
Regarding the 1828 Durango 8R you asked about the coin is a fake. Notice the assayer initials are JM - in 1828 Durango used assayer initals RM. The eagle is incorrect, the Cap is too large and most details show a lack of understanding of the coin itself.
The engraving (in particular the head of the eagle) is linked to other fakes that I classify as most likely modern or at best completely uncertain. I am extremely suspicious of the age of this coin but would like to see it in hand to make a final decision. This could be a modern numismatic forgery or a new variety of a ccc that I have never seen.
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Posted 03/03/2018 6:29 pm
