8 REALES "MEDALLION" FOUND AT BASEMENT HOLE SITE

[relicmeister]

Stopped at a favorite local spot on the way home from work, and was working over a trashy spot when I popped-up this holed 8 Reales fr om
only 2-inches deep. The 8R was removed when it was holed (why there I can't say) I only used hot water, soap and a bristle brush on it.
The gouges on one side were there since they have the same patina as the rest of the coin.
I found this (lighter) not far from the Reale last week. I've been hunting this spot for months but have avoided the trashy areas-an obvious mistake! Can anyone tell me how common an 8 Reales is?
Thanks for lookin. and HH
Relicmeister

 

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[woodstock]

I agree with you ... it doesn't matter to me either cause it's still a GREAT find . I only wonder why there's about a 50-50 split on opinions on if it's Silver or Copper ... and why 50% of the others who say it's Silver can't explain why they do or just say they've dug similar copper patina reale's . I'm not asking much , I just want to see one like they claim ... doesn't anyone have any pic's ? IMHO , Woodstock

Doesn't really make a whit of difference whether it is a contemporary counterfeit or a silver one in that condition. The big thing is--IT'S AN EIGHT REALES!!!


Great find!


-Buck

 

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[woodstock]

I wanted to add that if you drill a hole in soft metal like Copper or Aluminum and push down hard you will leave a crown or Burr like this on both sides of the object due to RPM and Pressure along with the sharpness of the bit . And that will happen if the drill used is a hand drill(s) mainly cause of the low speed(s) and applied with a lot of pressure . However if you use a high speed ( more modern) drill you'll have a burr on the bottom side . Keep in mind the age of this piece and the drill methods at the time and add the bottom swirl has been caused from the piece moving when the person attempted to drill the first hole , either the drill moved or the piece being drilled moved . And note that some of the drill itself can be left inside the hole depending in the bit hardness and RPM along with applied pressure . Woodstock

Your answers seems to need more clarification . From the looks of your picture and some of the other members reply's you're convinced it's silver yet I see nothing that looks to be silver . And Crusader ... you see solid silver , based on that ? I see copper , solid copper . Now I've seen silver tarnished black and when properly stored (cased) maybe different color hews but never as pitted and the color of tarnished copper . And the drilled hole has no silver that I can see by the photos unless your looking at different pictures . Also consider the weird pit on top of the head , what would you call it and why does it have the same copper patina as the rest of the coin . If it was from a bite the biter must have broke their tooth . And the bite test was for gold coins and I never seen any coins that had bite mark even after going to many coin shows . And the bottom face side has a swirl mark indicating it was drilled or there was a attempt to drill it there first that failed .... it even rings up as copper so come on everyone that see's silver tell me how you came to that conclusion ... HH , Woodstock

 

[Erik in NJ]

I agree with you ... it doesn't matter to me either cause it's still a GREAT find . I only wonder why there's about a 50-50 split on opinions on if it's Silver or Copper ... and why 50% of the others who say it's Silver can't explain why they do or just say they've dug similar copper patina reale's . I'm not asking much , I just want to see one like they claim ... doesn't anyone have any pic's ? IMHO , Woodstock

I think if he tried the trick with the aluminum foil it will tell us what the "coin" is made of. I agree that a contemporary counterfeit is just as good if not better than the real McCoy. It's a great find and one I would display proudly. I'm just curious what it's made of so I can learn something. My gut says it's a contemporary counterfeit, but that's with only a 75% confidence level

 

[woodstock]

I fully agree Eric and that's what I want to do is learn as well . Your never to old to learn ... and my guess is the same as yours and it's still a cold find ... 75% of me says it's a contemporary coin . I'm just puzzled by the patina and why 50% say they see Silver when I see Copper ...Woodstock

I think if he tried the trick with the aluminum foil it will tell us what the "coin" is made of. I agree that a contemporary counterfeit is just as good if not better than the real McCoy. It's a great find and one I would display proudly. I'm just curious what it's made of so I can learn something. My gut says it's a contemporary counterfeit, but that's with only a 75% confidence level

 

[BuckleBoy]

I agree with you ... it doesn't matter to me either cause it's still a GREAT find . I only wonder why there's about a 50-50 split on opinions on if it's Silver or Copper ... and why 50% of the others who say it's Silver can't explain why they do or just say they've dug similar copper patina reale's . I'm not asking much , I just want to see one like they claim ... doesn't anyone have any pic's ? IMHO , Woodstock

YES. I have some photos of tarnished silver grey colored reales I've dug. I can post 'em for you on Wednesday if you wish. They are not copper colored...but I'm not convinced this one is copper colored either. Looks gray-ish to me.

But again, it doesn't matter now, does it??

 

[pennyfarmer]

I dug a seated half once that I thought might have been a large cent. It come from very alkaline soil.

 

[ivan salis]

when found to be bogus --the person who it was trying to be passed to might have insisted it be "drilled" or the cops called once "drilled" it was cast aside.

 

[woodstock]

Not really ... whatever ... it's all good here . But remember this post and the questions cause coin content makes a big difference on judgment day . I have no doubt that it's a Reale . And if it's bogus or not makes no difference on my side of the fence except for the different color and the Matte finish . Now if we knew the alkali content of the soil from where it rested it would help many ways . I'd try the wrap in foil Eric suggested because it might really brighten this coin up ... Reale or Un-Reale (pun) isn't important to me anymore but the proper metal content and how to ID it is ... it's really been a great learning experence and nice thread ... IMHO , Woodstock In

YES. I have some photos of tarnished silver grey colored reales I've dug. I can post 'em for you on Wednesday if you wish. They are not copper colored...but I'm not convinced this one is copper colored either. Looks gray-ish to me.

But again, it doesn't matter now, does it??

 

[woodstock]

By cast aside your referring being bogus , right ? Could this have been do by shaving a piece off ? And if verification on coin content is important to ID it today why not just find a "rat-tail" file and carefully clean out the whole that already there ? I mean it can't hurt the coin or the value cause the coin's already been drilled , right ? And the weight is also important and should be darn close to 27 grams seeing that oxidation and light pitting doesn't remove much weight or alot less that drilling the hole did already . I guess what I'm saying is there are many other ways to expose the content without damaging the coin's condition that already was damaged . IMHO , Woodstock
to

when found to be bogus --the person who it was trying to be passed to might have insisted it be "drilled" or the cops called once "drilled" it was cast aside.

 

[relicmeister]

I was surprised to see that this thread was still of interest and getting comments which I followed with fascination. It immediately
prompted me to try Eric's foil trick which caused no reaction. I then took it to work and weighed it on a mechanical balance with
calibrated brass weights and I came up with a hair under 24 grams. Since I don't think the hole amounts to even close to 3 grams
the coin must be counterfeit, as Woodstock and Eric suppose. I also scratched a line inside the hole and looked at it under a 20X
microscope and the color of the freshly exposed metal was not silver, but more bronze-like. It also appeared to have spiral grooves
inside the hole which may imply a slowly rotating drill bit. Oh, and the soil type I found it in? Lots of pine trees, heavily rooted soil
so probably acidic. Lastly, I made a few measurements with a digital caliper: avg. thickness- 2.5mm min. diam. 39.3mm max. diam. 39.7mm.
So, I think we can conclude this is a contemporary counterfeit, yes?

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

It's hard to say for sure but I think your coin has a decent chance of being real(e). If it was made of some pot metal like many fakes are the drilled hole wouldn't be smooth like that. I would either use the aluminum foil method as others have suggested, or better yet, do some light electrolysis on it as that should allow you to be able to quickly rub off that tarnish between your fingers. Please post the results either way. Great find regardless.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi RM,

Based on all of the due dilligence you did you have certainly convinced me that it's a contemporary counterfeit -- which as has been stated before is probably a more rare and valuable find than the real thing. If it had been silver, once you wetted the coin and wrapped it in aluminum foil, you would have felt it getting warm to the touch very quickly and it would have smelled like rotten eggs. Scratching a line inside the hole was a smart move and I believe gave us the definitive proof that the substrate is not silver, but some other alloy.

Great find buddy and thanks for following-up on this for those of us that still were quite interested in this excellent find

I was surprised to see that this thread was still of interest and getting comments which I followed with fascination. It immediately
prompted me to try Eric's foil trick which caused no reaction. I then took it to work and weighed it on a mechanical balance with
calibrated brass weights and I came up with a hair under 24 grams. Since I don't think the hole amounts to even close to 3 grams
the coin must be counterfeit, as Woodstock and Eric suppose. I also scratched a line inside the hole and looked at it under a 20X
microscope and the color of the freshly exposed metal was not silver, but more bronze-like. It also appeared to have spiral grooves
inside the hole which may imply a slowly rotating drill bit. Oh, and the soil type I found it in? Lots of pine trees, heavily rooted soil
so probably acidic. Lastly, I made a few measurements with a digital caliper: avg. thickness- 2.5mm min. diam. 39.3mm max. diam. 39.7mm.
So, I think we can conclude this is a contemporary counterfeit, yes?