Mexico 8 Reales 1787 MO Th - Wrong Mark!

Interesting...am I seeing areas raised in the field near the portrait's forehead and reverse crown?
Look forward to hearing the scoop on this one!

Thanks for the info, I had a feeling that may be the case due to the bumps on some of the surface. It's still interesting that the size, weight and material seem correct, and the wear also looks like it was really circulated. Perhaps it's an old fake?

jfransch- very interesting that this may in fact be a real 8. What would have caused the condition of the surfaces around the word "HISPAN?"

Numismat The coin not original that is certain.

Is it an original with an altered assayer? I don't think so. It looks cast to me.

Is it Modern Chinese? - No, I don't think so - they actually do better with finishing the mold/die surfaces. This one has huge lumps.

So what is it? I believe it is a circulating "bullion" forgery. It is most likely full weight and full assay silver (but it may be off metal as well).

The "reverse" die (using US convention) the side with the shield is a die I know rather well. I have seen it in other matings on numerous occasions usually with later dated portraits of Charles IV. The diagnostic is the crack coming out of the upper right side of the crown. I have always classified it as a late 1890s bullion forgery - for which getting the wrong assayer was not too serious. I typically bid $35 whenever I see that crack but rarely win - especially lately.

The edge looks as though it could be one of the better edge applications. However, if you examine it closely some of the O's (on the left side) appear to have one side cut off! Also the space between the rectangles and the O's VARIES. Finally the line border is not correct for Mexico City. Does the edge opposite the photo have any diagonal cuts? Are there 2 overlaps at 180 degrees in the pattern? It may be a Boston type.

This particular forgery falls between the Contemporary Circulating Counterfeit Classification and the Numismatic Forgery class. It is a peculiar form of forgery used to take advantage of changes in silver prices. It has happened a few times in History but the "Bustman" dollars made for the China trade was the largest production I am aware of - estimated to be in the millions of copies. The coins are usually full weigh silver so they survived typical tests - weight and assay. They could be cut and acid tested. They were held for their face or silver value by their owners. They were not held as collector coins.

They became a threat in the 1950s (when they were first discovered as far as I can tell) because numismatic value of Bustman coins was becoming significant. They have been in constant supply since then. Many dealers threat them as REAL unless, like this coin, they were made with a non-existent date, mint and assayer combination.