KM # For This Thaler

many of My 8s have been picked up at my local coin shop, which in all fairness is known as a major coin entrepot in these parts. A lot of dealers at shows are rather eager to display them since they do sell fairly well in the US (for a foreign coin) since they did circulate heavily in the colonies. Their value in VF really varies based upon mint. Coins struck in Mexico city, for example, tend to run at about $40-50 in VF. If you are looking for coins from other Spanish colonial mints, prepare to pay more. More common dates from Chile and Guatemala run for at least $100 in VF. 8's were minted in Colombia between 1810 and 1816, and they run for at least $2,000 in VF. The plot really thickens if one wants to also collect pre-milled coinage (AKA cobs) and milled 8's struck in Spain during the 18th and early 19th century. Cobs are just so hard to collect by date due to how crudely they were struck, and 8's made in Spain look totally different from those of the colonies and are quite rare. As Swamperbob and others have always pointed out, 8's are a dangerous game to play due to the fact that they are one of the most commonly counterfeited coins in China. When I went to a coin show in Barcelona, Spain a few months back, I saw so many counterfeits. One really has to know their stuff...and probably never buy 8's off of ebay in order to not get cheated.

Interesting how these crowns resemble each other across geographies during that era.

Very nice - I may look for one for my collections. Seems very much in the same family as Thalers. Only challenge is to brush up on history. I keep digging deeper and deeper into the Habsburgs while this can open a new world to study. Thanks again.

Nice talers gentlemen.

Zohar - here he is a few years earlier.

wcg- Thanks. That is a nice one too!