8 Reales question...

jayPem

I find it interesting that I've only ever seen stress cracks on 8 reales from Mexico...as common as they seem to be on Mexico coinage, it seems they would be present elsewhere ?
As a matter of fact, I've never seen them on any other coins from anywhere ( granted, I haven't seen THAT many coins, but....)

So, I'm certain it's been discussed before, but does anyone want to give a bit of a lesson on what's up with these marks ? Am I right calling them sress cracks ?
I like them personally, and will be looking for a couple more to add to my collection sooner or later....

Does anyone have a coin from elsewhere with them to show off, and most importantly....does anyone have a 960 Reis struck over an 8 R with stress cracks ?

pruebas

Do you have a photo to show what you mean?

In Mexico, dies were often used until they broke, so there are often die cracks.

And in the branch mints (i.e. Culiacan, Potosi, Durango, etc.), conditions and equipment for preparing planchets and striking were often less than ideal, hence impurities, adjustment marks, poorly-struck and poorly-edged coins are sometimes the norm.

Since the mints were private enterprises (leased from the government), the goal was to turn silver into coinage as quickly and cheaply as possible.

jayPem

Alright, here's one I was watching on Ebay...not the most dramatic stress cracks I've seen, but there are plenty of them.
Pretty cool coin BTW (if anyone here won it...) I forgot to go back and bid...

worldcoinguy

I like stress cracks - I think it adds an element of individuality and uniqueness to these issues. Here are a couple of german state examples:

OriginalDan

I'm curious if these are really stress cracks that occurred during the striking process vs. a result of the way the planchets were prepared. I have always thought it was due to the way the planchets were rolled...reminds me of what happens to the dough when making cookies.

amwldcoin

<< <i>I'm curious if these are really stress cracks that occurred during the striking process vs. a result of the way the planchets were prepared. I have always thought it was due to the way the planchets were rolled...reminds me of what happens to the dough when making cookies. >>



I agree with you. If those are cracks they would be raised from the surface of the coins and appear to be incuse in the pictures.

jayPem

I think they are definitely planchette defects, not imparted from the dies...just curious why they are so common on Mexican 8 reales...