Mexico experts. Thoughts about this mid-19th century 8 reale

Weiss

Picked this up yesterday and thought it was really cool. But I'm having trouble deciding exactly what it is.

At first I thought it was just a run of the mill Mexican 8 reale. KM377, 1864-1895.

But the serpentine of the snake on his right (our left) wing, and the placement of the cactus pads leads me to believe that it's a closer match to 377.5 1828-1830.

It also has the look of a contemporary counterfeit--though It sounds right, it feels right, it's not magnetic, and weight is within about a gram of a real silver coin. Which doesn't seem unrealistic given how worn it is.

Thoughts or opinions?

TwoKopeiki

Looks like a severely worn early Zacatecas (pre-1943)

lordmarcovan

Ay, que suuuaaave.

WillieBoyd2

It appears from the scratches that someone was sanding or grinding the coin down for an unknown reason.

It doesn't appear to be smooth from circulation wear.

TwoKopeiki

It also looks like it could have been silver washed.

pruebas

It looks more like a Durango to me. And some of them (1830s) can be underweight.

Not to be snooty, but in that condition, who really cares?

Weiss

@TwoKopeiki said:
It also looks like it could have been silver washed.

That was actually my first impression, and why I thought it might be a contemporary counterfeit. But the weight, the ring, diameter all seem within reason. Still doesn't explain the appearance, though. Like a well-worn 1960s Morelos peso.

TwoKopeiki

Pruebas - definitely the early Zacatecas eagle and the spines on cactus pads are unlike any other early mint.

Weiss

That looks really close!

pruebas

@TwoKopeiki said:
Pruebas - definitely the early Zacatecas eagle and the spines on cactus pads are unlike any other early mint.

You got a point there!

asheland

Interesting for sure.

CIVITAS

Looks to be a contemporary counterfeit. I think a lot of these were made with very rudimentary equipment and often times were very flatly struck, so they frequently started out with very little detail. (maybe by design to make it look like they circulated, furthering their genuine appearance).

Weiss

I'm going with likely contemporary counterfeit, I guess. It's unusual, at least from where I am in the midwest. I've never seen anything quite like it before.

Meltdown

Looks like a perfect pocket/coversation piece...