real spanish silver?

[Goes4ever]

I bought this coin off of ebay and the guy listed that he bought it from franklin mint, I did a google search that showed franklin mint did indeed sell real spanish silver in the past. I thought it was odd it had all these little marks on it though?? what are they?

I saw another one on ebay with the same type marks, look here http://cgi.ebay.com/1795-OM-Mexico-...goryZ541QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and here is mine, oh I forgot I weighed it on my gram scale and it weighs 27g. Is this coin real spanish silver?

 

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[BuckleBoy]

They look like "chop marks"--indicating that the coin circulated in China at some point, where it was tested for fineness.  Many of these marks also show up on Trade Dollars as well. I don't know what a real 8-Reales milled dollar should weigh...I don't have my books with me right now.


Regards,


Buckleboy

 

[Goes4ever]

They look like "chop marks"--indicating that the coin circulated in China at some point, where it was tested for fineness. Many of these marks also show up on Trade Dollars as well. I don't know what a real 8-Reales milled dollar should weigh...I don't have my books with me right now.


Regards,


Buckleboy

so what does that mean? real or not?

 

[BuckleBoy]

I wouldn't think there'd be a huge market in counterfeiting spanish dollars...but who knows?

-Buckles

 

[Goes4ever]

I saw some replicas on ebay that stated they were counterfeit but it listed their weight as 17g,

but like I said above mine weighs 27g

 

[Mackaydon]

27 grams is an 'OK' weight for this coin. Yes, those are chop marks, but it takes more analysis to determine real or not. For example, it should also be 89.6% silver and 40 mm in diameter. If real, and without the chop marks, the coin looks like is worth about $20 in good condition. The value (up or down) with the chop marks might depend on the individual buyer's acceptance of the 'spin' the seller puts into his pitch.

 

[djui5]

Could the "chop" marks be old Spanish "ownership" marks? I know they did this with metal bars to designate ownership. They'd stamp a symbol onto the bar. It's still done to this day as a matter of fact all over the world.

 

[Goes4ever]

27 grams is an 'OK' weight for this coin. Yes, those are chop marks, but it takes more analysis to determine real or not. For example, it should also be 89.6% silver and 40 mm in diameter. If real, and without the chop marks, the coin looks like is worth about $20 in good condition. The value (up or down) with the chop marks might depend on the individual buyer's acceptance of the 'spin' the seller puts into his pitch.

I have no intention to sell it, I just bought it for my collection. Thanks for the info.

 

[hyperion]

If the weight is around 27g then you most likely have a genuine Reale. Without the silver in the composition it wouldn't weigh that much (assuming the size is correct ... 40mm). Cast and stamped counterfeits of common coins don't contain any silver ... no profit in it. Some rare coin counterfeits have silver in them in an attempt to fool the experts. 8 Reales in this condition are not rare. And those are Chinese chop marks. Appears you are holding a piece of history in your hands. Good snag.