181? Silver Coin - Need help I.Dng

[GatorsMoon]

181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

I found this today at an old homesite. My next door neighbor showed me around to 6 different sites on his property. I will have alot of hunting to do! I also found an IH about 10ft. from this coin.
At first I thouhgt this coin was from Mexico, now I'm thinking England. The best I can tell on the date is 1811 or 1814. It is pretty scratched and wore thin. What do you guys think?

 

[Newt]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

Good thing you showed the reverse. It will probably get ID'd quickly.
Newt

 

[Ray in CA]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

My guess is a spanish reale. Others here can confirm that or not and help you with the denomination if it is. I don't know too much about them.

Ray

 

[GatorsMoon]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

Sorry guys, I meant to post this in What Is It. My bad. I just got excited.

 

[Mackaydon]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

IMO:
8 reales; Fernando VII (1808-1821).
.896 fine silver, 27.07 grams total weight; 40 mm dia.
Obv. reads: FERDIN VII DEI GRATIA (DATE)
Rev. reads: HISPAN ET IND REX (mint mark) 8R (assayer's initials)
Note: "REX" is at the 7 o'clock position under the shield; and "VII" just behind his head at the 11 o'clock position
I agree; most likely from Mexico.
This 'piece of eight' was legal tender in the US till 1857.
Great find!
Don.....

 

[spartacus53]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

Still a nice find there

 

[dfx willy]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

nice!!!! spanish silver. i thought my 2 reale was big. man the 8 is huge. willy.

 

[GatorsMoon]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

I just weighed it. 22.7 grams. It is a huge coin. I thought it would have been deeper in the ground, but I found it at 2 1/2 inches on edge. Thanks for all the info Mackaydon. My oldest coin to date. I could only hunt this spot for about 15 mins. You know where I will be in the morning. Surely there should be a piece of gold there. What would an 8 reale be in American currency?

 

[Mackaydon]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

That coin is about 2 mm larger in dia. than a US Peace Dollar.

 

[Mackaydon]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

8 reales= $1.00. One 'real' was worth 12.5 cents. Each 'real' was called a bit. "Two bits" was frequently what a quarter used to be called; 1/4th of a dollar.

 

[GatorsMoon]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

Thanks again Mackaydon. I always wondered in the old Westerns how much they meant when saying "2 bits" Now I know.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

There is something odd about the bust on this 8 Reale. I just spent the last hour looking at different varieties of Spanish milled reales, and the neck on this specimen is thinner than all the others. The hair is also slightly different from even the closest matches.

I am at a loss with this one, but it is a great find!!!!

 

[halfdime]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

There is something odd about the bust on this 8 Reale. I just spent the last hour looking at different varieties of Spanish milled reales, and the neck on this specimen is thinner than all the others. The hair is also slightly different from even the closest matches.

I am at a loss with this one, but it is a great find!!!!

Counterfeit? A great find, though.

 

[JasonB]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

I thought the same thing about the bust. It's not quite right. I have a few reale's and none are like that.

It could be a variety because the reverse is right but something is off. I'd take it to a pro and get it checked out.

Still a great find (maybe ever better than you/we thought) and good luck on the rest of the site.

JasonB

 

[GatorsMoon]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

I'm going to stop by a flea market today. There's a coin dealer there that might know. I looked on Ebay at some Reales last night and seen an 1809 that looked very close.

 

[Don in SJ]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

A large amount of the 8 Reales that circulated were counterfeits, I suggest you contact the owner of this website, I am sure he would be able to confirm your coin.

http://www.counterfeitcoins.com/index.html

Don

 

[JasonB]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

Yours looks a lot like this one to me:

http://www.counterfeitcoins.com/8reales/8reales1812-01-jp-lima.jpg

 

[GatorsMoon]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

Tht does look very close JasonB. I was looking at my coin through a magnifier and at the pic. The differences I seen were the back of the head. Mine is a flatter profile and the chin on mine doesn't seem to be as rounded as the pic. It looks like the bust overall is skinner than the ones I've seen so far. The ribbon coming from the hair doesn't match anything I've seen yet either.

 

[JasonB]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

The guy who runs that website seems to be an expert. You might email the pic to him and get his opinion. Just a suggestion.

I'd like to know the result if you don't mind posting what you find out.

 

[mlayers]

Re: 181? Silver Coin - Need help I.D'ng

Nice find. Keep hitting that place hard....Matt