Tooled 1804 8 Reales
TwoKopeiki
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Any thoughts on why anyone would do this? I'll have the coin in-hand in a couple of weeks to take measurements and better pictures and will update this post.
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Notice no one has replied. That's because there is no answer to your question. Folks have been doing all kinds of things to coins since they were first coined!
I should probably highlight the area I believe was tooled. > @Insider2 said:
Perhaps it's not obvious what area I'm talking about:
8 Reales Madness Collection
Maybe it had corrosion in that area? Either way...sad
Looks like corrosion, "Tooling" usually refers to moving metal so it often shows up as scratches. There is a patch of scratches in the obverse field. If the area you indicate looks altered, perhaps someone tried to smooth out the corrosion.
Look at the shape of the letters as compared to the original example above, as well as an extra dot between 8 and R in the denomination.
8 Reales Madness Collection
Then to answer your question, the coin was tooled probably to remove corrosion or hide damage..
Have Chinese counterfeits ever replicated plata agria?
I haven't seen one replicated, but I am not ruling out some kind of planchet stress during striking with counterfeit dies.
8 Reales Madness Collection
There are stress marks all over your coin. So far, that's a good sign of authenticity.
Coin looks pretty good, but lettering at 9 o'clock on the reverse does look messed up.
Wouldn't chase after this coin. Would need a price concession to maybe think about it. Charles IV was a bad king, and I disposed of many of my coins from that reign.
That's what @fluffy155 implied. The coin displays a metal stress effect called "plata agria" that's often seen on portrait 8 reales. The general belief is that this effect was present on the planchets and was due to the process of rolling out a planchet strip. It definitely adds legitimacy to the coin, but as I have mentioned before - I dont rule out the possibility of a die struck counterfeit potentially having similar stress fractures. I don't think the coin is a counterfeit, but will analyze it once I receive it. I paid more than what it's worth, in my opinion, and will most likely end up sending it back to the seller after documenting it.
8 Reales Madness Collection
I would guess retooled die more than tooled surface.
If someone tolled the die, what would it look like on a coin?
You're thinking a transfer die that was "improved"?
Should be pretty obvious in-hand. Will post better photos and measurements once i receive it.
8 Reales Madness Collection
Maybe a genuine die that has been worked on to remove problems from rust. I see scattered bumps on the surface from rust pitting. Perhaps some letters have been repunched and/or recut and a big rust pit got turned into a dot.
Trying to add the Plus on the coin to add value is the only assumption I can gather. But it’s anyone’s guess.
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If someone tolled the die, what would it look like on a coin?
What would stress cracks look like on a transfer die?
The only things I see on the coin that indicates it may not be genuine are the perfectly round lumps. These can be caused by heat during a repair. I recall that this coin is certified as genuine. This counts a little.