Neat counterfeit find

ASUtodd

I was down at my fav coin shop today, goin through the world coins, when I came across a sleeve/tray of coins that I had never looked through. I could tell the tray was heavy and that the coins were probably silver in nature so of course I got excited! In going through the coins I found two 8 reales and a 2 reales. I was going to purchase all three of these coins when I got to looking at one the reales that just didn't look right (I'll post pics of the other ones later). I flipped the coin over and found that the reverse of the coin appeared to have the silver peeling off of it. I looked at my friend (who is the dealer) and held up the coin (obverse toward him). I said, "Hey what's this?".... he said that's an 8 Reale...I then flipped the coin over and handed to him and said, "What's up with this coin?" He looked at the coin and looked back at me and said, "You can have it......" I started to laugh. Apparently this coin wasn't suppossed to be out in the trays and I know this for fact because the 2x2 that it was in had none of their usual writing on it (their version of barcodes for record keeping). Also the 2x2 it was in was not the type that they normally use, it appeared much older and well, I can't explain it..... Anyways, I do think this coin is fake (although I have been wrong in the past!) because of the flaking silver and it appears to be iron or even copper underneath. Here are the pics. I just thought it was interesting because it looks like this coin was actually passed around back in the 1800's as currency.... Just something cool, plus I know that there are people out there that actually collect counterfeit coins so I figured they may like this one.
Todd

Meiji

Yes I think what you have is a counterfeit 8 Reales.
But the good news is that it is a contemporary counterfeit as opposed to a modern.
Looks like a copper core with maybe a Sheffield Silver Plating?

Blackhawk

That's cool!

TwoKopeiki

<< <i>Looks like a copper core with maybe a Sheffield Silver Plating? >>



Meiji has been beating me to all the posts, lately. Definitely great-looking Sheffield plate! Could you post the image of the edge, as well as the weight?

Check out this link for lots of great information about contemporary Bust 8 Reales counterfeits with lots of images.

1jester

That is really cool! Thick silver plating.

ASUtodd

Wow, good information there Twokopeiki! I will weight it later and upload a pic of the edge. It appears that it will be a Sheffield Coutnerfeit, which if you ask me, is pretty freaking cool!! It was still made in the 1700's and was circulated. I will definetly keep this coin and will send the owner of the counterfeit 8 reale page a pic of it with the information. Now I must check my 2 Reale I bought...... Thanks guys!
Todd

TwoKopeiki

Sheffield technology was developed in the 1770s and was adopted by forgers rapidly. I'm waiting to hear what Swamperbob has to say over on the other forums - that guy is amazing when it comes to forgeries. Great pick-up!

ASUtodd

OK the edge pictures are not turning out correctly so I'll focus on those tomorrow once my blood pressure goes back down. As far as weight of the coin, it looks to be about 20-21 grams (using a small hand held type scale, not digital).
Todd

sumnom

That is cool. Thanks for posting it.