SSP: Eight Real Coins

Aethelred

I have three Eight Real coins each with interesting chop marks:

#1 Mexico City Eight Reals w/chop marks, VF $70.00


#2 Lima, Peru Eight Reals w/chop marks, F+ $80.00


#3 Mexico City Eight Reals w/chop marks, F+ $70.00

TwoKopeiki

Imagine the stories those 3 could tell

Aethelred

You're not kidding!

DesertRat

What exactly were the chop marks used for? Were they more than just a bankers identifier?

TwoKopeiki

<< <i>What exactly were the chop marks used for? Were they more than just a bankers identifier? >>



Chopmarks are in the same category as test marks and edge cuts. Here's a bit of a history behind them:

During late 17th and early 18th century silver imported into China traded for Chinese goods and had intrinsic value. That intrinsic value became an addition to the total real wealth of China. As trade increased, China's real wealth grew, because China had a favorable balance of trade, in mercantilist terms. The economic health of China thus came to depend on foreign silver dollars, and the dollars had to have credibility.

China had laws against counterfeiting, but they only applied to currency of the Chinese government. Right there was THE rub. Occasional debased fakes were a nuisance over the years. But, with war breaking out between England and Spain in 1779, shipments of Spanish coins dwindled to a trickle, not nearly enough to finance trade with China. To meet this emergency, the East India Company had molds made, and set about casting copies of Carolus dollars of 1778. However, the coining was farmed out to local officials and local labor.The intent of the company was to produce coins of full silver content for their own use. But things did not work out as intended. The natives, out for a quick profit, made for the company coins debased to .600 fine.

After that, things went bad. Local officials, seeing the opportunity for instant riches, had Canton silversmiths make even more debased copies of the 1778 Carolus dollar. Since no violation of Chinese law was involved, private parties soon went into the counterfeiting business for themselves.
The resultant flood of debased fakes shook the public's confidence in foreign silver coins, and that threatened to undermine the whole Chinese economy. The situation got to the "Something Has Got To Be Done!" stage, and that something was chopmarks.

At some time after the fake 1778's started pouring out, merchants and bankers guilds took action to require each merchant and banker to chop each coin they handled, thus putting their endorsement on the coin and guaranteeing its genuineness. The time when this policy came into being cannot be fixed with any accuracy, but it was probably between 1780 and 1785.

DesertRat

Thanks!!

ozzysdad47

Athelred, I turned my pm function on...........Let me know, ozzysdad....