1828 Cap & Rays - 8 Reales - Anyone know anything about the survival of these?

Prethen

I don't see any Cap & Rays earlier than the 1850's. Does anyone know who scarce this material truly is or how many survive/minted?

1960NYGiants

Nice one. Josh (Civitas) usually has a couple of them. I don't have my catalogs handy so can't help mintages or values. Oh, and I would grade yours as VF+.

Gene

MrEureka

Dunnigan calls the date "somewhat common". As far as the series goes, there are tons of coins available, even in the early dates. Many are dirt common, quite a few scarce and rare. It's sort of like the Morgan series, only far larger, less expensive and less competitive. You can pick up great bargains if you really work at it.

WillieBoyd2

That coin was around when the Mexicans stormed the Alamo in 1836.

Davy Crockett or Genl. Santa Anna could have carried it.

coinkat

Good question...

Lets rephrase the question alittle... and I am taking the liberty of doing that because I like the example that you posted.

The real question is... How many well struck examples have survived in a high state of preservation? Lets define high state of preservation of AU55 and higher for pre 1860 examples.

Your example is a candidate for an original surfaces designation and I would grade it EF40 based upon the wear and what I anticipate the coin looked like when it left the mint. 8 Reales from this time period are notorious for flat strikes, no breast feathers, uneven strikes similar to the Bust Half series in the US. I am soley using the Bust Half example as a point of reference to illustrate that fully struck up examples of certain coins series are underappreciated.

This series has many interesting dates, a long history and fully struck original examples are far tougher to locate than one might think. Taking this to the next step... try looking for original Proof- Like examples... there is a stunning charm with the overall appearance of such coins and these are tough. Later dates show up with greater frequency.

Prethen

Thanks, Coinkat, for your opinions on my newest aquistion. And, Willie, that was a really cool piece of trivia! I love the look of this coin and it has so much history behind it. It's a bit of a bummer that it's as common as dirt, but this one will stay as a welcome foreigner in my U.S. collection.

Bruce

coinkat

I don't think it is as common as dirt... it is not rare... but go try and find another original one that looks like that.

Hyperion

outstanding coin and pic I hadn't seen many and i find myself staring at it !