Milled Pillar Dollar

Please post large, clear pictures of the obverse and reverse. Swamperbob is our expert on these and he will need pictures to determine its authenticity.

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Originally posted by Kikoy

. . . They say this the rarest.. I dont really know. . . The question is if its original? I think it is real. . . its very nice with out wear and it weighs on one digital scale 26.9 and another digi scale 27...

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I can't say if its original or not, but I can say one thing - they are normally not "rare" in any sense - these pillar dollars were used all over the new world (Americas), and could be thought of as the "morgan's" of their time. 1730's may bring a bit more than later dates, but even so....I'm thinking it will bring around $200, not $600...
Anyone know of a good book on pillar dollars? I think there is one that was published a while ago but is out of print.....Numismatica Espanola I think its called.

Kikoy - Well I have some bad news for your friend Nick. The coin in the scan is a Modern Counterfeit. If he paid $600 he paid 100 times too much. I own several varieties and never pay over $15 for any of this kind.

The weigh is good because the forgers are getting better at creating planchets of the correct weight. They usually use a lead alloy of white metal or just make the coin a small bit too big. It is easier to make them thicker than to enlarge the diameter.

Regarding the date, it is not the rarest date of the series or even the most sought after - that would likely be one of the 1732 Eight Reales. The milled coinage series dates to 1732 - so that year is distinctive as the First Year of Issue. The 1733 is still a GREAT date and in this condition a real coin would be worth a MINIMUM of $1500 and more likely $2500.

But without any hesitation and with NO DOUBT WHAT-SO-EVER this particular coin is a forgery. Not only is it a forgery but it is a Modern forgery and worth very little even to specialists like myself. It is a hand engraved mold or die (I can't really tell how it was made - but I suspect casting as most likely) which DOES NOT MATCH the correct punches for the year 1733.

Toblerone2 - The book you want to look at is Gilboy's "Milled Columnarios of Central and South America". One look at that reference should clear up any one's doubts about this particular coin. Also this coin is far from the typical Pillar 8R. Very few of these made it to the US Colonies because of the restrictions on importing silver coin established by the British government. The importation of later date Pillar Dollars made them far more common in Colonial US commerce.

If anyone has any further questions or would like more details just ask. This is perhaps my favorite topic

when he said his friend was buying everything coming across the street in the Philippines I knew he was in for trouble. it is just a rock throw from China and just way to many counterfits around them parts to buy stuff you are not an expert on