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Piece of Eight
Matt0224
Posts: 102 ✭✭
First let me start off by saying I know very little about old coins but I am looking to buy a Spanish Dollar for my girlfriend. It doesn't have to be in real good shape it's more of a gift for my girlfriend that more has to do with something between us than her wanting a really nice very expensive coin. I'm wondering what dates to look for and what condition for a reasonably priced maybe around $100 coin. How often are they faked? I'm more concerned with it being authentic then the condition but I would like the coin to be easily identifiable. I hope I am making sense haha as I said I am out of my comfort zone on this one so any help would be appreciated!
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There are many deceptive counterfeits around - they outnumber the crude junk fakes. An 8 Real is a little heavy for jewelry. Makes a nice gift. Ones from Sea Salvage are interesting and may be less expensive.
Why not post some images of things you are looking to buy first. A member here may PM you with a great deal!
Here is an example of the classic "piece of eight." The term comes from the fact that the Spanish dollar was divided into eight parts or reales." This is a "Pillar Dollar."
And yes, there are counterfeits offered in the market. This has gotten to be a real problem. This piece is a cast counterfeit. Note the pitted surfaces. There are better (more deceptive) counterfeits out there.
The later Spanish pieces had a portrait of the king on them. Here is a 1 reale piece (12 1/2 cents) from the early 1800s. It is similar to a dime and a bit larger than the modern dime.
Time was you could buy these coins for reasonable prices, but they have gone up in price. It might be a challenge to get a dollar sized piece for $100 or less. You migh find 2, 1 or 1/2 reale piece for a price in that neighborhood.
I hope this helps. I'll try to answer your questions, but others know more than I do.
I found the piece I wanted to post. Here is a Bust Type 8 reale piece.
The 4 reale pieces would make a good jewelry piece, but they are scarce and expensive collectors' items. Unless you find a damaged one that might have been previously used for jewelry, that is not an option. The 2 reales are nice, but the a little bigger than a quarter. They are the quarter's direct ancestors.
Bust Type 2 reale
Bust Type 4 reale
Wonderful information! thank you! I will continue checking this out and will ost anything I am interested in. Beautiful Pictures!
I found this one on eBay for a pretty decent price. Note: I’m actually looking for a rough coin like this. What would be a fair price does this look questionable? seller has high feedback
Looks like a "piece of half" (1/2 Real) that had a rough life.
8 Reales Madness Collection
The only problem is the coin is smaller than a dime. I'm not sure what you girlfrind might think of it. These coins had a U.S. value of 6 1/4 cents. The U.S. cousins to this pieces were the half dimes, which were the forerunners to the modern nickel.
Here is the piece in my collection, which okay, not great.
And here is a pillar type half reale.
and finally an early U.S. half dime.
Maybe I’ll have to sell a few Morgan’s to get my price range up. I am looking for one that looks like it had a rough life but identifiable date and features. She prefers the “it looks like it has a story to it” Maybe I’ll sell a few Morgan’s to get my price range up
There are quite a few on eBay in the $60-$80 range that would fit your criteria.
https://ebay.com/itm/Mexico-1808-Mo-TH-CAROLUS-IIII-8-Reales-Circulated-Nice-Details/113211415623?hash=item1a5bed1c47%3Ag%3ALeAAAOSw4jpbefZ3&LH_BIN=1
https://ebay.com/itm/Mexico-Colonial-1795-8-Reales/123321655560?epid=102056933&hash=item1cb68b2108%3Ag%3AeuoAAOSwBWJbYih5&LH_BIN=1
https://ebay.com/itm/Mexico-1800-Mo-FM-CAROLUS-IIII-8-Reales-with-Nice-Oriental-Chopmarks/183386740027?hash=item2ab2b3953b%3Ag%3AsxwAAOSwEAhbeLoi&LH_BIN=1
https://ebay.com/itm/Mexico-8-Reales-1821-War-of-Independence-Spain-and-colonial-coinage/282821719063?epid=102185388&hash=item41d97cf417%3Ag%3AQEQAAOSwnMBaaSka&LH_BIN=1
8 Reales Madness Collection
Thank you for finding that! I'm just not seeing the right one yet. I guess I'll know it when I see it but this is definitley the right track. Thank you for the help! I'm sure I'll have more questions soon
Bill you're killin' me with that '95 V4/LM10. Fun die state you have too as it looks like the cud has developed.
And to keep this on topic, here's my only example of a crusty old 8R. OP, these were minted at several different locations. Perhaps you and your GF connect somehow to one of the locations? Might help you narrow down your search and make the coin "mean" more to the both of you.