Spanish coin - How to tell how old if fake?

[wolfcamp1]

I was out detecting by the Missouri river near Kansas City MO last December and found this awesomely mysterious coin as I was leaving for the day. It was about 6" down. It appears to be a 1709 Escuados (see link I put with this), but these should be gold. I went to a reputable coin shop and they put it in a machine and very quickly determined the content was not gold . However, he was able to tell me that it was made of Copper, Zinc and Nickel.

So knowing it's fake, who would go to such great measure to use a combo of metals such as these to make a fake. The mystery is also, how do I tell how old of a fake it is? A fake from the 18th Century would still be quite cool.

Anyone have any idea? The coin shop didn't deal in 'ancients' so I'm left wondering.

Thank you up front to all who respond!







8 Escudos from 1708 - SPAIN 1700-46 - FELIPE V - The Coin Database

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[Carl-NC]

Bunches of fakes are made for souvenir shops. Bunches are made for displays (plaques and such). They're all sold as fakes, no one is trying to pull a fast one. A kid take his souvenir and loses it. Years later, you find it.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Still a nice find!

Carl-NC said it all!

 

[l.cutler]

Not sure what you mean by going to great measure to use a combo of metals. These replica coins always contain zinc because it is cheap and melts at a low temperature, other metals are added to make it a little harder or more durable. With that metallic composition it is almost certainly a recent replica not an early counterfeit. Zinc is so reactive it would never survive that many years, just look at todays zinc Lincoln cents.

 

[wolfcamp1]

Thanks for the input all. Having little understanding of metal mixtures may put me at a disadvantage in one respect, but I guess the good side is that I get to use my imagination a lot more . I get to think its real until I find out its not. The stories I can come up with . I really appreciate you guys getting me up to speed on this one. Happy hunting!