8 Reales Mexico 1776 (?) Forgery

valdiman

Based on the weight of the coin I suspect that what you have is a "modern" counterfeit probably produced after WWII.

The design is a fairly good match for an original but I do not know of counterfeits matching this exact design.

The coin clearly appears to have been discarded and buried. Some of the scratches appear to show a dark gray UNDERCOLOR instead of a bright silver tone.

I would be interested in seeing the "lamination" you refer to and the edge detail in general.

Have you done a Specific Gravity to see if the coin is really 90% silver?

A coin weighs less when it is hanging in water than when it is hanging in air. The difference in weight is equal expressed in grams is the VOLUME of the coin. That is because 1 gram = 1 cubic centimeter. So if you devide the weight of the coin in air by the change in weight you get the density of the coin.

There are several threads on this site that tell you what you need to do the test.

It is an interesting find - real or not.

There is no evidence on the edge that the coin is a Birmingham Sheffield Plate, but the edge may show one or two points where traces of a mid line seam still exists. Most forgeries with mod line seams come from the 1940s and 1950s but it may have been produced anytime - the technology has been around.


The surfaces are so poorly preserved that it is not very valuable as either an original or a counterfeit.

I would suggest testing to see if it has any silver content and I would also try to determine the context in which it was found. Household refuse area or Town dump or military camp etc. might add to the story. Also other artifacts if any discovered in close proximity could point to a burial date.