Pair of contemporary counterfeit 1/2 reales
My only two examples (so far). The 1/2 real appears to be the second toughest denomination to collect CC's of after the 4 real. I still haven't seen a contemporary c/f portrait 4 real I'm guessing these were fairly common back in the day, but survival rates were very low due to their diminutive size. Apologies for the less than stellar photos. I'm using an iphone and these are very small coins.
First one: 1787, no mint or assayer mark and reverse has an applied blackened patina. I believe this was done on purpose. Weight 1.15 grams, plain edge.
Second: 1792 Mo-FM. Well made and would have easily passed when it was new. Peeling silver plate reveals a dark metal beneath. Edge design is wonky and slanted, with O's that are basically square. Dentils also look crude and the visible bottom portion does not follow a consistent circular line. Weight 1.65 grams, right in the range of a genuine coin.
Highly enthusiastic about world coins, contemporary circulating counterfeits and unusual stuff
Comments
Neat examples. My only minor CC was a crude barbaric example that I passed onto Swamperbob along with a few others.
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That is a really cool looking piece. Someone had to have huge cohones to try and spend that
Highly enthusiastic about world coins, contemporary circulating counterfeits and unusual stuff
Interesting!
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That is AWESOME! It reminds me of some of the early 1800s Zacatecas pieces which all seem like hand-made die pieces rather than using punches.