1758 Pillar Ferdinand VI MO MM - My First Purchase

The coin weighs 27 grams and is 39-40mm. Here is a picture of the reverse.

Sorry for the dark shots of the edge - still playing with the camera and lighting to get good shots. The edge design looks good to me as I have seen in pictures on originals and the overlaps are 180 degrees apart. Archraz, help me to understand your reasoning for a post strike edge design?

Your coin raises several questions for me and I would question the authenticity. I am disturbed by the font of some of the letters, for example the "Q". Compare the fonts to the two coins I have posted and see if you "see" the same thing.

I have seen other photos of my coin on-line from others who say their coins are authentic and mine is the same (particularly the obverse). The weight, diameter and edge design all seem to point to the coin being authentic. Any more opinions are welcome as always - still new to the mexican silver dollar collecting.

Jfransch - your 2 specimens of 1758 does have a different die variations. Difference are visible easily when you focus at its date's distance to the waves. I wonder where my 1758 coin goes to look the same in each of your samples

Or my coin is also a counterfeit?

All the pillar dies are hand punched for legend so there are many die variations. However they tend to use the same punches so they have the same/similar font. When I look at the "Q" punch used in both of my posted coins, and look at the "Q: in your posted coin they appear to be the same boldly struck "Q". Unless it is an illusion due to the smaller photo, the original posted coin has a completely different "Q", thinner, less bold and less symmetrical. I am not saying the coin is fake, I am saying there are questions that are raised. I would be careful before buying the coin, I would want weight, want to view the edge with a loop and see if it looks correct. I would want to examine the globes very closely, 1758's tend to be struck very boldly (view the 3 other posted coins), are the globes on the subject coin "flat" due to wear or were they never struck up? Usually the ribbons (PLUS VLTR) are the first things to wear (highest point on the coin). Yet the subject coin shows clearly the ribbons yet seems to have no detail at all in the globe. All I am trying to point out to Rayhaldo is to question the coin, I have been burned for fakes in the past and probably will be again going forward but it is getting harder to fool me as I become more knowledgeable (thank you Swamperbob and CCF) and become more suspicious. I really believe these are the most interesting historically significant coins in the world that are collectible on a modest budget, learn all you can and view as many of the coins as you can. I ask every dealer I talk to at every coin show I go to to show me all their Colonial 8s. It is very hard to determine a coins authenticity from a photo, much easier in hand. At some point you will develop a "sixth sense" and coins will just look wrong, those are the ones you want to be really careful with those.

I have previously posted my nebulous coin before that has this laurel leaf edge. It also has 180 degrees overlap.



It is true that as you go through a lot of experience dealing with pillar dollars, you begin to become more suspicious with these ones. And it is only though this forum that we are able to learn & share what we have gone through. Moreover, this is also for others to become more cautious about getting ripped-off.