1712 - Mexican Hacienda Token For Corn - What Is It?

I concede to your rather reasonable demands...Any other requests?

Before you ask, NO, I do not have a portable radio-carbon dating machine...do you?

One side says:
Vale = Worth
x5
Costaies = Some sort of measurement, like bushels or baskets
De = of
Maiz = Corn

Reverse side:
Hacienda = Farm Manor (I think most of us know what a hacienda is)
La = The
Quemada = Burnt
1712


So, "worth 5x measurements of corn" and "The Burnt Farm 1712"

Remember, that La Quemada is a local Hacienda that can be found on the map.

I talked to a small-time street vendor I know downtown that has a small collection of silver from the 1700's. The description he used for these tokens are like scrip used in mining towns in the US during the 1800 and early 1900s.

So the question that still begs to be answered, do these have a name of some sort where I can find more information on them? This particular vendor had three and assured me his is getting more this weekend. I'll see what else he picked up from this same individual when I see him Tuesday.

The lettering question IS an interesting observation. I frankly wouldn't know. I haven't seem any other pieces from this era.

I am, however hesitant to agree that it's age is almost 300 years.

The use of a wheel grinder (albeit it could be a large stone wheel from that era) appears to have been used on this if you look at the scrape marks on the face and edges.

It seems to me that this was a sand cast piece that was hammered down to remove the roughness of the faces and a wheel was used along the side to trim those down for day-to-day use.

It is possible that some very handy and modern metal smith made an original, made a quick sand cast, poured it, pounded it and did some light grinding on it....then SOLD them as some sort of souvenir for tourist. (there are a LOT of rich tourist that pour though a town near where this piece came from)