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 Replies: 9 / Views: 3,363 |
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New Member
United States
3 Posts |
Came across this in a pile of old silver. Can anyone help verify please? TIA   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1156 Posts |
If genuine, the mint mark indicates Potosí, which is now in the nation of Bolivia, but when it was made it was in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a part of the Spanish Empire.
These have been, and continue to be, faked so it's not safe to assume it is genuine.
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New Member
 United States
3 Posts |
@jgenn - Thanks for the additional details.
How would I go about checking if the coin is genuine or not?
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Moderator
 United States
189586 Posts |
 to the Community! |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
to the CCF. In this case, probably not even worth the trouble to investigate if genuine or not, because: 1. It is so worn in some areas that detail is almost gone, 2. The graffiti and the hole has almost degraded the value to silver melt value. Nevertheless, a 'keeper' for curiousity value. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1333 Posts |
Sel has put if genuine still probably a close to melt coin due to multiple issue with the coin (worn, hold, crude graffiti and not craftsman type just someone with a knife maybe), however if not it would be a jeweller's copy and most likely still contain silver as too how much not sure.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5362 Posts |
devillesadvocate Based strictly on appearance, I would say the odds are good that the coin is genuine and silver. The numismatic value is extremely limited unless there is a story behind the initials.
To confirm authenticity, Specific Gravity would be your best bet as long as the coin can be removed from the chain.
The coins of Potosi were notoriously variable in actual alloy which is why many countries did not trust them at full value. It is why the Chinese never paid a premium for these coins unlike those made at Mexico City.
This coin would actually be worth significantly more if it was a counterfeit made while these coins remained in circulation.
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New Member
United States
3 Posts |
Thanks all.
I did some quick silver tests and the coin does appear to be made of silver.
The only thing that I'm still wondering about is that none of the guides for this type of coin are showing PP as mint markers... Does anyone have more info on the PP mark?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1915 Posts |
Assayer's Initials perhaps Pedro de Mazondo, Pedro Martin de Albizu
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1156 Posts |
The mint mark is the PTS stacked on top of each other, just counter-clockwise of the 8R on the reverse.
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Replies: 9 / Views: 3,363 |
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Posted 10/25/2020 03:42 am
