Spanish 8 Reales | Mexico 1811

Swamperbob should be along shortly ... lol! Harshly-cleaned, whatever it turns out to be.

Thank You. pls yes most definitely cleaned

It's considered a Portrait series. Also, not sure but you might have the HJ/TH there.

From what I can see here it looks real. The coin is a Portrait from Mexico City using a transitional portrait of Ferdinand - an Imaginary Portrait. I do not believe it is the over assayer.

These coins were counterfeited in silver for use in China. Yours could be REAL or could be one of the Silver Bullion types but either way it is of the same retail value. The reason the bullion forgeries are of equal value with originals is that most DEALERS and COLLECTORS do not know how to tell the difference. Therefore at least for now, counterfeit collectors have to pay the price of originals to buy counterfeits of this type. It may change if word spreads or it may stay the same if it does not.

The only way to tell the two types apart in many cases is the way the coin was edged. The edge dies and the process of edge application were not fully understood by the forgers so they got it wrong in many cases. Those are the BEST clues. A few of the coins in this category were made with 700-800 fine silver which can be detected by SG testing but they are NOT that common. Off metal Portrait forgeries from the 1890 era are almost unknown.

One of the things that makes me suspicious of the coin (slightly) is the crack near the King's head. The coin seems VERY well worn but the die break seems too sharp as if it happened to a "worn" image. If a counterfeit die was made to look like a worn original and that die breaks in use - the break will be sharp and the coin still worn. Not at all sure, but this could be such a case and the crack may hold the clue needed to diagnose it.