NEWP: Addition to my primary collection.

TwoKopeiki

Another piece to add to my War of Independence collection. This will be the 4th 8 Reales piece from Durango Provisional mint.

Seller's pics look blurry, but after looking at all of his other ones - it looks like all of them are out of focus:



Here's the 1816 I already have, which is a different die pairing:



~Roman

bidask

very cool coins and history

MrEureka

Very cool. The die varieties in this series are so distinctive they make 1794 Large Cents look boring.

MrEureka

This thread reminds me of one of my Durango pieces. Fortunately, it's from a Heritage sale so I can post a picture. (Believe it or not, I still don't have a camera!)

BTW, the coin is wildly overweight.




Ferdinand VII 8 Reales Durango, KM-110.1.Similar to Calico type 108f, number 420. 39.2 grams, which is 12 grams more than usual for this War of Independence issue. Although crudely produced, this coin displays a carefully engrailed edge. We can find no mention of a Durango 8 Reales struck to this weight, nor do we know why it would have been produced, except to say its mystery reflects the turbulent times in which it was minted. Crude VF but with no real wear evident. Struck from 1811-1814, this coin lacks the date and mint, but the portrait of the King and the arms on the reverse are quite bold. Only the DE of DEI is legible on the obverse, while a D (either of IND or Durango) is clear in the reverse legend. Very rare in any grade and a true numismatic challenge for the specialized collector.

TwoKopeiki

That's a very interesting piece, Andy. I have never seen that portrait of Ferdinand before. It looks to be mimicking the early "military bust" from Mexico City. The high weight is very uncommon, but Durango was notorious for "off weight" coins as late as 1829 or so. Yours is the heaviest I have ever heard of. It's a surprise that it even survived at all since overweight pieces were hunted out and melted in the 1820s.

I have a "fatty", as well (27.28g), but nothing coming close to the weight of yours.

JZrarities

Cool Thread - great coins both of you !

TwoKopeiki

Here's some information from a conversation I had about this piece so far:



<< <i>It likely is a privately produced "necessity coinage" made of more than 8Rs in metal value so that it would be accepted in commerce. There are many instances where fraud was not the primary motivation. Silver in bulk was hard to use in commerce but even a poorly made coin was better. >>



Fascinating piece, Andy. Noone I've spoken with so far have seen anything with either that die characteristics, or that weight. The above quote came the closest to explaining the reason for its' existence. Also, I wonder if the shield design led Heritage to attribute this piece to Durango.

Specific gravity testing would support the abovementioned theory if it checks out at .900 or higher.

~Roman