1807 8 Reales Cuban Waters Wreck

Wasn't sure if the value would be different because the condition on this one is better and a different date.

In my view the lack of an identified wreck makes them much less interesting.

Wreck coins are a mixed bag - from good to bad. Unlike most collector coins they are typically damaged. I prefer to view and value them as historical artifacts. It is the actual context of the coins that provides value.

One warning - Market price is a heavily manipulated number that I place no trust in whatsoever. Buyers are often kept in the dark about the actual number and grades of the coins discovered. The methods used to market these coins is often directly opposed to the actual historical value of the coins themselves.

So if you like the coin - it is worth what you are willing to pay for it. Don't expect to get top dollar when you go to sell the coin, in particular if you hold onto the coin until long after the wreck has been forgotten again.

Over my 60 plus years of collecting and buying collections, I have picked up quite a few. Most were encapsulated and I did not intend to buy them - they fall into the category of collateral acquisitions - like the inevitable can or jar of wheatie pennies that comes with every collection.

The only wreck I really find interesting is the SS New York which sunk in 1846. It coincides with the time frame of John L. Riddell's "Monograph of the Silver Dollar" and is of most interest to me because it provides data that confirms the estimate Riddell made in the book regarding the percentage of counterfeit dollar coins circulating in the US. Unless or until another period wreck is discovered carrying a cross section of circulating coinage, it is the only confirmation there will ever be for Riddell's statistics.

Since I collect counterfeit Mexican 8Rs - those are the only wreck coins I am interested in buying. Genuine coins from wrecks do not interest me.

All of the 8 reales in the Stacks sale appear to be genuine at least as far as I can tell from pictures.

Most counterfeits of 8 reales were made outside of Mexico with the US, France and England as the chief suspects. So discovering counterfeits on a vessel sailing for the US would be slightly surprising unless it sailed from England or France. The 1807 wreck has not been identified. No one knows where it originated. Conversely the ship SS New York was sailing from Texas to New Orleans in 1846 when it sank. Counterfeits coming from that wreck currently consist of between 9 and 10 percent of the dollars recovered and then certified by NGC. Most are listed in Riddell's 1845 book on circulating counterfeits.