1814/3 HJ 8 Reale
SSrecords
Posts: 5 ✭
Have been searching the web for info on this and has led me to this forum. I have this coin and about 200 others 8 reales from a discovery hoard from a renovation of a property I own. The house is a historic house and very old. It’s in New Orleans. I am not a coin collector but have brought 25 of them to a local coin shop. They have checked out and are real. I’ve been trying to do my research on what is or would be the ones to send in for grading(although I have no idea on how). This 1814/3 HJ is the one in question. I have only seen a couple on the web and have searched this forum to see there are a couple out there. Is this a rare coin? And what are other 8 reales that I should look for that I might have? Thanks in advance. 
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First off - welcome to the forum and congrats on the find! That's the stuff dreams are made of. I've owned a few of the 1814/3-HJ's over the years and it's definitely a tough date. Yours appear to be authentic (at least all of the die characteristics are there) and roughly in VF30-35(net) Details grade. There appears to be some corrosion on the reverse (dark spots). You can try conserving it by sending it to NCS, but if it's corrosion, your chances of a "straight grade" are slim. As it is - probably an $800-$1k coin. If you have images of the entire 200 coin find, i'd be more than happy to go through them and pick out other scarcer varieties.
Cheers,
Roman.
8 Reales Madness Collection
You could find a reputable coin dealer in your area who could submit the coins for you.
Some research on your part would be required to determine the "reputable" part.
I wouldn't disclose initially what quantity of coins I potentially had available but would attempt to bring the dealer a representative sampling of the coins at large. You indicated approximately 200 or so 8 reales therefore somewhere between 10 to 20 coins would more than suffice. Remember grading isn't inexpensive so better to submit 5 -10 in order to determine the TPG opinion on what you have than spend $$$ only to discover that they feel the coins are only "details" worthy and not numerically gradable. The valuation difference is, or can be, significant, so a small test run would be the most prudent.
In terms of what number of coins are available for the specific years / mints / assayers that you have, you can review the census data between PCGS and NGC, the two most prominent TPG's currently.
NGC shows 3 total 1814/3MO HJ 8R all in VF
PCGS shows 3 total 1814/3-Mo HJ 8 R Calico-1324 with 2 in VF & 1 in XF (263387)
Charles III Album
Charles III Portrait Set
Charles IV Album
Charles IV Portrait Set
Spanish Colonial Pillar Set
At least one of those NGC VFs has been crossed to PCGS.
8 Reales Madness Collection
Congratulations on this awesome find! I'd suggest to go slowly with any sales as this windfall opportunity, once gone, is likely not to be repeated. As it is, you have already been visited on this thread by one of the leading experts in this niche. Good luck!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Thanks for the warm welcome. As of now I have made a list of what I have. And have some front shots of the coins. @TwoKopeiki it was your images of your coins that popped up when I did a search of the coin that lead me here. Thanks!! Here is the list of what was found
What an amazing find! The 1798 "Liberty" also looks intriguing... a US dollar thrown in there? Depending on type and condition it could be worth strong money, photos of that coin (obverse and reverse) would be very interesting.
If you send them to be graded, try to get a pedigree put on the holder. It makes a great story, and stories sell coins. You could get in contact with numismatic media and have them write a story about the find.
Just think of a cool name representative of the find. Maybe something like Crescent City Hoard?
You asked @twokopeiki haha
I quickly converted the pages into a spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kvyaSyvnLyzxEvixrUFrLrQEZs7wF3HuAn0RhG1_E6w/edit?usp=sharing
As @pruebas mentioned, whatever you're sending in - definitely get it pedigreed. I liked his suggestion of the Crescent City Hoard, or Big Easy Hoard, etc... Ditto on his recommendation to get a numismatic article published. It's a fun find and the article will add legitimacy to the pedigree.
If you decide to go the article -> pedigree route, i would send all of them in. It will cost you around $5-6k in submission fees, unless you find an authorized dealer that can do a bulk submission for you at the discounted rate.
If you want to do individual coin submissions, condition plays a big role in whether or not i would send something in. For sure anything pre-1793 in your spreadsheet, 1814-HJ and a few others i noted in the spreadsheet. If any of the 1811's are draped bust - i would send those in, as well.
Would love to see some photos of the hoard. Also, please don't clean anything and if you haven't done so already - put coins in individual 2x2 flips or coin envelopes.
8 Reales Madness Collection
Thank you for taking your own personal time to put it into a spreadsheet! Seriously. I appreciate that a lot. I will have to get better pics so you all can see the front and backs of each coins but for now this is what I have
@Fluffy155. This is the Liberty that was there as well. Along with a different type of Reale
The 1798 is unfortunately the more common version, and with the environmental damage you can probably expect $500 - $700. The pillar is a neat addition as well and shows how late these coins were in use.
Looking at your coins overall, with the latest date being 1819 it seems your deceased benefactor may have hidden these away in response to the first US depression, the economic panic of 1819-1821. One has to wonder if he died before the panic ended or if his trust in banks was irreparably damaged and he just decided to keep them around.
@SSrecords What a great find!