Questions from different centuries

[hav2fish]

Got a couple of coins I'd like to find out about. Sorry if the picture quality is lacking. First one came from a bollo tie my Grandma had lying around. It says FERDIN VII DEI GRATIA 1818 on one side. The other says 8R PI HISPAN ET IND REX and has a symbol that looks like an S,T,P combined. Spanish? The second I think is a medal. It says WITH APPRECIATION FROM DWIGHT EISENHOWER (his name is a signature). The other side says SOUTH AMERICA 1960. Also, is there a good book for foreign coins pre 1850-ish? I appreciate any help in advance.

 

[Mackaydon]

FERDIN VII DEI GRATIA 1818 on one side. The other says 8R PI HISPAN ET IND REX and has a symbol that looks like an S,T,P combined. Spanish?

If it were Mexican, it should have the assayer's initials, "JJ", after the date. On the other hand, the letters "PI" would normally refer to the mint in the city of San Luis Potosi (mintmark Pi), previously located in the heart of central Mexico, opened late in 1827, which struck 8 reales almost without interruption until the mint's closing in May of 1893. But that mint wasn't opened at the time your 'coin' was dated: 1818. And the Pi mark would follow the word REX, not the value, 8R.

What is/are the one or two letter(s) that follow the word REX?

Perhaps it is from Spain.

Better picture quality shown with a scale (US penny?) would also help.
Don.....

 

[hav2fish]

Thanks for the response. Here's a picture I hope is a little better. I included the best rendition of the symbol I could. it is between the REX and 8R.

 

[Mackaydon]

What you are describing is, perhaps, the mintmark of Potosi, Peru (now in Bolivia)--not the Potosi mint in the area of Mexico City. The mint mark of the Potosi (Peru/Bolivia) mint evolved to become a monogrammed "PTSI" with all those letters completely superimposed so that the symbol looked like an S wrapped around a T.
Don.......

 

[Mackaydon]

I'm guessing your mintmark looks like the one here (disregard the other aspects of this coin):
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache...ntmark+PTSI&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&ie=UTF-8
Scroll down a ways to the enlargement.

 

[hav2fish]

Yes, that's it. Thanks for your help.

 

[Mackaydon]

Is this what your coin looks like?
http://www.coins2.ru/imgsearch/8+re...Ferdinand-VII-1818-POTOSI-PJ-8-Reales-EF.html
Don......

 

[hav2fish]

Other than that one being a little nicer it's an exact match.