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18th Century Silver Coin Mystery
jmm2562
Posts: 129 ✭✭
Hello!
I'm trying to identify a silver coin with a partial date and limited artifacts. Google photo match is not finding anything. I'd like to consult real human experts to see if any recognizes visible clues on this coin. It's about the size of a US dime and is fairly thin. The partial date "17XX" is the most visible text. The bust can be seen to some extent. Below are some photos. Also, you may notice the criss-cross scratch. I see this on many era coins. Was there such a custom to scratch the coins for some reason?
Hopefully, something in the coin strikes a match in someone's memory.
Thanks so much for your help!
Jim (jmm2562)
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Comments
Why do you think it's silver? The X scratch could have been done to indicate a forgery. Also banks would keep common forgeries on a ring for the tellers to use for comparison, which might explain the hole.
The bust, and the position of the date beneath it, are both indicative of Spanish-colonial coins (Mexico, Peru, etc). Specifically, I'm seeing the "big nose" of Spanish king Charles III (1759-1788).
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded the DPOTD twice.
I agree with @Sapyx , looks like a half real, or maybe a real. I have seen worn half reales with a "V" carved into them for five cents as well as "X" carved into reales for 10 cents. This just looks like defacement to me, maybe it was too worn/damaged to be accepted.
Great clues! In the upper left of the obverse, I can make out the possible "III" inscription. If so, it might considerably narrow the search. I'll look through some coins in this range to see if anything clicks. The shape of the "7" in the date is somewhat distinctive and may help finding a match. Thanks for all your help!
Further limiting the search criteria... 16mm (may 16.5-17mm originally) and 1.5g (slightly more originally).
Given it's state of wear it might be more interesting and perhaps more valuable if you could determine that it was likely to be a contemporary counterfeit. An analysis of it's alloy via specific gravity or XRF would be a way to determine that.