Good news

fingerscrossed · Jul 5, 2012

Good news - PICS ADDED!

Alright guys just got good news from my wife, a patient of hers know that i collect coins. Shes sn oncology nurse by the way and wifey just txt me saying she got a coin for me, a shipwreck coin 1783 given by the patient! Will post pic later im excited!

Hope everyones doing well and having great finds!

EDIT:
alright guys I was so surprised to get that text msg from wifey and even more surprised to see that the coin was graded by NGC! my wife's patient knew I was collecting and he's been collecting himself for the last 40years! now he's trying to liquidate and give some coins to friends and family and his words to my wife were, if he were to give some of his collections, he would be glad to know that one of his collections were in the hands of a fellow collector! :headbang:

@BuffaloBoy - you were right man its from El Cazador ship wreck! How did you get that coin from a Museum? They actually let you purchase it? :headbang:

this if by far the best coin I ever had and by far the oldest! thanks for viewing guys!!! :hello2:

Bigheed · Jul 5, 2012

looking forward to this pic! sounds exciting!

HH
Bigheed

BuffaloBoy · Jul 5, 2012

nice job!!! 1783 i believe is the year the el cazador sunk... i have a coin from that shipwrech bought from mel fischer's museum in key west, FL... looking forward to pics!

...I could be wrong about the el cazador part, but I am sure that is the time frame of the shipwreck and the coins were from the 1780's

Diver_Down · Jul 5, 2012

I would bet that it is an El Caz. They are very collectible. I clean clumps and sell at auction individual specimens. Hopefully, you are given a 2 or 4 reales. They are rare from the El Cazador. The most common is the 8 reales.

fingerscrossed · Jul 5, 2012

posted pics above..its 8 Reales nonetheless I'm happy! It's a nice coin and got it for free! :hello2:

Bigheed · Jul 5, 2012

That is a beauty!

BuffaloBoy · Jul 5, 2012

i was right on

nice find indeed! i should post mine on here too...
hh
buff

fingerscrossed said:
posted pics above..its 8 Reales nonetheless I'm happy! It's a nice coin and got it for free!

Diver_Down · Jul 5, 2012

Nice Bust. I urge you to read up on it the history of th El Cazador - The Shipwreck that Changed the World. If not for the sinking of the El Cazador, the US might not exist as we know it today.

Linked is one of mine - http://www.colonialcobs.com/forum/index.php?topic=373.msg2894#msg2894

Rascal · Jul 6, 2012

Congrats!

Rascal

FreedomUIC · Jul 6, 2012

BuffaloBoy said:
nice job!!! 1783 i believe is the year the el cazador sunk... i have a coin from that shipwrech bought from mel fischer's museum in key west, FL... looking forward to pics!

...I could be wrong about the el cazador part, but I am sure that is the time frame of the shipwreck and the coins were from the 1780's

Nope, you are correct on the date. I bought mine from Mel Fischer's museum in Key West just a couple of months ago. Have to send it off to get it slabbed, it is 8 Reales.
Beautiful Coin.

fingerscrossed · Jul 6, 2012

@BuffaloBoy - please post pics...I thought it would be just loose and not graded..this is my first graded coin apparently...

@Diver_Down - thanks for the link..its sounds interesting indeed..I haven't heard of El Cazador until yesterday.... :occasion14:

dumb question - is this coin silver? if not, what kind of metal is this?

TheMastermind · Jul 6, 2012

Very cool!

sagittarius98 · Jul 6, 2012

fingerscrossed said:
dumb question - is this coin silver? if not, what kind of metal is this?

Silver, I am not sure what fineness. I think it is around 90%.

Diver_Down · Jul 6, 2012

fingerscrossed said:
is this coin silver? if not, what kind of metal is this?

The King of Spain would have it no other way. Assayers would pay with their lives if they were caught skimping on the silver. Your Bust 8 Reales is 90% silver.

For those that are interested in the story of the El Cazador - it's sinking and impact on world affairs - select the historical link on El Cazador - Shipwreck Treasure.

Brush64 · Jul 6, 2012

What an awesome piece of history...nice job!! Timing is everything...and so is having a wife in the right place at the right time!!!

FreedomUIC · Jul 7, 2012

BuffaloBoy said:
nice job!!! 1783 i believe is the year the el cazador sunk... i have a coin from that shipwrech bought from mel fischer's museum in key west, FL... looking forward to pics!

...I could be wrong about the el cazador part, but I am sure that is the time frame of the shipwreck and the coins were from the 1780's

Buff,
Did you get your coin Authenticated? I bought from the same place you did. They had just finished electrolisys on a clump of coins and mine is
so shiny I thought it was a fake. Gave weight of coin, date and Cert. I will have mine sent to NGC shortly but was curious if you had sent yours
in.
Freedom

Diver_Down · Jul 7, 2012

FreedomUIC said:
Buff,
Did you get your coin Authenticated? I bought from the same place you did. They had just finished electrolisys on a clump of coins and mine is
so shiny I thought it was a fake. Gave weight of coin, date and Cert. I will have mine sent to NGC shortly but was curious if you had sent yours
in.
Freedom

Freedom, I wouldn't worry about it's authenticity. Mel's is known for their shiny products - just part of their conservation techniques. Look at the link that I provided to ColonialCobs. It is the before and after of a clump that I was breaking up. It too is very shiny. A bit too shiny for my taste. I'll end up toning it, before sending it to auction. I have three more clumps that I just haven't gotten around to cleaning. Sending it to NGC is fine, but there won't be a grade just a "genuine" tag. It helps in selling the item later on, but it won't add more value than the Mel Cert that already accompanies it. Those that deal and collect treasure coins can spot fakes. When you get into collecting cobs, there are plenty of fakes out there and you can get burned. Educate yourself before dipping your toes in this realm of numismatics.

FreedomUIC · Jul 7, 2012

Diver_Down said:
Freedom, I wouldn't worry about it's authenticity. Mel's is known for their shiny products - just part of their conservation techniques. Look at the link that I provided to ColonialCobs. It is the before and after of a clump that I was breaking up. It too is very shiny. A bit too shiny for my taste. I'll end up toning it, before sending it to auction. I have three more clumps that I just haven't gotten around to cleaning. Sending it to NGC is fine, but there won't be a grade just a "genuine" tag. It helps in selling the item later on, but it won't add more value than the Mel Cert that already accompanies it. Those that deal and collect treasure coins can spot fakes. When you get into collecting cobs, there are plenty of fakes out there and you can get burned. Educate yourself before dipping your toes in this realm of numismatics.

I do keep up on numismatics and can usually spot a problem/issue with a coin, with that said, it was an impulse buy and I knew the name was solid
that I was buying from. The only issue is that Mel did not find the El Cazador but they had their coins for sale. I am not an expert on 8 Reales but
wanted one for my collection. The one I have is almost intact up to and including the lettering on the edge of the coin. The gleam, if I may, of the coin
is what had me concerned but it just came out of the "UnClumping" process two weeks before I bought it.

How do you tone down a coin like this?

FreedomUIC · Jul 7, 2012

After reading your amazing posts, I finally figured out why there appears to be a brownish/red stain on the obverse of the coin. Great before and after pictures, and yes, they are just as shiny as mine. Mine almost appears to be Chrome Plated....

Thanks again DD.. :icon_thumleft: