Peru Libre 8r
jayPem
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Here's my 1823 Peru Libre.
Just like everyone else, I prefer nice original surfaces... but as I start getting to the scarcer types of Latin American eights, cost also becomes an issue.
At least it hasn't been scrubbed or polished. Just appears dipped and I'm hoping that some time in the cabinet will help it look even more presentable..😊
One thing I like about this one is that the center of the shield is struck up. This area is often a bit of a mess, even on high grade pieces.
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Comments
Yes, very little "plata agria" - just a couple small spots. Very presentable example.
Thank you! I assume plata agria describes the roughness seen around the centers of these?
Curious about that...rust? Rough planchets?
Glad to see you collecting Latin American pieces
Latin American Collection
@jayPem plata agria are the lines that you can see in the face of King Joseph in this picture:
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/blognumismatico/2012/01/05222252/image01114.jpg
Ah, ok!
I guess I've always called them fissures, for lack of knowing the actual term. I've only seen them on Mexican mint coins, but it stands to reason they would occur elsewhere...
This is the typical issue with the Peru libre's I've seen.
Rusty dies? Not sure that makes sense for a couple reasons, but..?
Although "A picture is worth a thousand words", the words in this post are quite valuable regarding "plata agria" or "fatigue cracking".
BTW... I was lazy/incorrect in my comment regarding terminology. jayPem's piece in fact doesn't seem to have either effect that "plata agria" is used to describe (discussed below).
More accurately, his piece has something different - a few "hojitas", aka slight lamination flaws.
Now, regarding "plata agria"... the Spanish seem to use the term in reference to TWO distinct effect (both alluded to above).
As Abuelo and jgenn note, it IS used to describe what we call "planchet stress" marks or fissures, as seen on some Mex 8R and on that Jose Napoleon 20R Abuelo linked to (inserted here for convenience).
However, they ALSO use it in regards to that effect often seen on the center of these "Libre" 8R... and also on the late 1810s-early 1820s Lima mint Colonial emissions.
I think the 2nd described effect presents as too extreme to be simply die rust and is rather something related to alloying and/or planchet preparation. I know it exists, I know it's as made... the coins look better when they don't have it... that's sort of all I really need to understand about it for my personal satisfaction.
Note that it didn't only happen with plata... see below.
I only knew its use for the fissures...