Chop Marks On Mexican 8 Reales Of 1803

The one in the crown on the reverse means silver or "yin". I see some others like big or "da" (one in his bow tie and several on the reverse) and yuan character (by his nose and the U in CAROLUS. Thats all the Chinese I know, wished I knew more. Don't know the other one that you mentioned.

Oh maybe one more, "sahn" or go up or high (by the castle in the shield and the right pillar on top).

I have one from 1798 and on the reverse has a tael character, has the style as the "yin" on yours.

Generally, the chinese characters on silver trade coinage aren't standard chinese characters, but often combine two or more glyphs into a play on words. Each character is 'unique' to a particular merchant who examined the coin, and deemed it worth accepting as its weight in silver.

Not part of your question, I can tell you that there are typically two sorts of Chops on silver coins. Type 1 and type 2. Type 1 chops are small, lightly scored, and tend to be placed where there is minimal damage done to the coin. These chops seem to range through the 19th century. The Type 2 chops are larger, and often placed indiscriminately. They can sometimes chop a coin so much that it literally falls into pieces.

Chopmarks are a fascinating little corner of Numismatism! I have a small collection of about 8 pieces with chops on them, and I'm still delving into their study. I recommend finding and reading a copy of F.M. Rose's little booklet on Chopmarked coins. It's a bit expensive (about $20) on ebay, but it can be found. :)

Great info, ElleKitty. I just got my 8 reales last week and I probably overpaid mine though. But the dealer always give me great deals on other coins, so it was ok.

Here are some pictures Archraz,




Not sure what the chopmark on the front means...

The other one is on the reverse on the bottom left of the sheild/crest.

I paid $50 for it...

It's funny how the dealers treat these coins. The specialists that carry a lot of them price them in the $50-100 range, somewhat less if they're heavily worn or chopped. But dealers who only get them incidentally treat them like bullion, whether buying or selling. I showed a few I had in my pocket to a dealer a couple weeks ago and was immediately offered bullion price for them. No sale! The dealers are also quick to point out all damage on your coins, whether it's from circulation or striking, but never on ones they have for sale.

Still turning up a few bargains here and there (a 1913 half crown in FVF last week for bullion), but not on the 8 reales.

I've seen colonial 8R's at bullion twice in the last 6 months. The first one was shiny and worn. The others were heavily chopped and worn, and were also pre-sold (the dealer let me compare them with some I had). I've done better on other foreign silver crowns. A lot of them were priced using old Krause guides. I look for better date French 5F's, German 5M's, and the British coins pre 1919. Others turn up occasionally - Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, and even some Russian (though these are becoming expensive).