Did this 1805 circulate?

JRocco

I know this is not a US coin, but my question is- Did this coin circulate back then and was it used for commerce? I know these are fairly uncommon today, but were these pieces more available than our own coinage back then? This is an 1805 4 reales, silver, and is slightly larger than a bust half.
Any opinions would be appreciated and any opinions on grade/value would also be appreciated as I do not know.

CoinResource

This one did...

TomB

Yes, they did, and they were legal tender in the US through 1857.

numisma

Hi JRocco,

You would probably get MUCH better answers from the darkside experts on the world coin forum, but I will give you a quick opinion:

Yes, this did circulate heavily. Spanish colonial silver was the world standard for coinage due to its consistency, accuracy and quality regarding the silver content. As such, Spanish silver circulated throughout the world, including colonial America and the subsequent United States of America. In fact, the U.S. actually made the 8 Reale legal tender in America in the early 1790's.

Your coin was actually minted in Guatemala, as indicated by the "NG" on the reverse, which is the mintmark for Nueva Guatemala. It is not a rare coin. In fact it is fairly common and you can usually pick one up at a coin show or on eBay for $30-$150 or so, depending on the condition. In AU and Unc., these get pretty expensive, but still much less than you would pay for an 1805 U.S. half dollar in the same condition, in my experience. I grade it as cleaned VG and value it at $75, which is a bargain considering it's age and historical content. I actually favor the 2 and 4 reales denominations over the 8 reales. It seems that most collectors like the 8 reales due to the size.

Again, I would ask the pros on the world coin forum for more information, but for now this is my "2 cents" worth.

millennium

You bet they did!...Just ask any metel detector guy.....we find them often...

Conder101

<< <i>Yes, they did, and they were legal tender in the US through 1857 >>


But not continously. (At various times between 1787 and 1857 they were NOT legal tender. The legal tender status of foreign coins was a matter of statute and were always passed for specific amounts of time. Sometimes due to poor writing of the law various coins that had previously been legal tender would be accidently omitted, or a time period would expire unnoticed and there would be a gap, sometimes of years, before new legislation would be passed.)

MrKelso

I own a few.