1749 Philip 8 Reale

GeminiTattoo

Greenie
Oct 23, 2007
12
0
Hey there,

My mother was going through my Dad's old stuff and found this coin. It has a hole drilled at the top with a keychain through it, but as far as I can 'see', the coin looks pretty real? I honestly have no idea and since I've enjoyed this site for years and have seen exactly how much you all know about things like this, I thought I'd post it and see what feedback you might have. Mostly I just want to know if it's real (which maybe you won't be able to tell just from a picture?) and if it's real, what it might be worth?

Thanks!
Amanda

1749 Front.jpg 1749 Back.jpg
 

allen_idaho

Hero Member
Dec 4, 2007
808
114
Culdesac, Idaho
You got the year wrong. It is a 1745 Mexican 8 Reale silver piece. In 1749, the name on the coin would have been Ferdinand rather than Philip.

The coin itself looks to be real. Just tinged with age. It should be about 39mm in diameter and composed of 0.798 troy ounces of silver. In such a worn condition, these coins are usually valued at around $100. But with a hole in it, I have no idea what the value would be.
 

OP
OP
G

GeminiTattoo

Greenie
Oct 23, 2007
12
0
Thanks for the info. Can anyone tell me what the "2" means at the 3 o'clock spot on the coin front (it's at 9 o'clock in the picture since the coin is upside down:)? It's much more raised than any of the other text on the coin and it seems to be 'upside down' in relation to the alignment of the rest of the coin/text. I was just curious what that could be about.

Amanda
 

austin

Gold Member
Jul 9, 2012
5,360
3,501
San Antonio, Texas
Detector(s) used
Garrett 250
Primary Interest:
Other
Take it to a good coin shop and ask them. They are the experts and can give you the answers...
 

Diver_Down

Silver Member
Dec 13, 2008
4,373
2,000
St. Augustine, FL
The obverse side would the one with the date and pillars. Based on your 9 o'clock position, the "2" that you see is part of the "M" in VNUM. Understand the Spanish used V's and U's interchangeably so the phrase VTRAQUE VNUM stands for (utra que unum) which means "Both are one" and refer to the two hemispheres.

By the way, Allen had it right with the date and the rest of the information. Pillar dollars are still desirable even with a hole. It was obviously a sea-salvaged piece before ending up as a key chain. If you knew of the provenance of the piece, it would make it much more valuable. Without it, it should still be worth $75 -$100.

First thing is to take the horrid key chain hardware off the coin.
 

Last edited:
OP
OP
G

GeminiTattoo

Greenie
Oct 23, 2007
12
0
I had some trouble adding photos to this thread, so I wanted to share the link instead. (I'm a poet and I don't even know it :))

CoinFront | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This picture shows the "2" really clearly, although maybe it's not a "2" at all and just a extra piece of silver? It definitely doesn't look like it's actually part of the coin at all, but rather something on top of the coin.

Thanks again for all the help :)
 

Jason in Enid

Gold Member
Oct 10, 2009
9,593
9,229
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
You need to take MUCH better pics, with stronger lighting if you want answers. Take a picture of the edge of the coin, as close as you can get and still be clear.
 

Mackaydon

Gold Member
Oct 26, 2004
24,086
22,862
N. San Diego Pic of my 2 best 'finds'; son & g/son
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
I see the "2" you are referring to. To these eyes it appears to parts from the damaged letter "M" in VNUM (as Diver_Down mentioned in #6, above) coincidentally arranged to appear as the number '2'; though I don't see it on your original pic.
Don.....
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top