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Question… can a genuine 1830’s Zacatecas 8 reales weigh 24.9 grams?
WorldCoinsDmitry
Posts: 382 ✭✭✭
The coin in question is dated 1834. Measures 40mm diameter and 24.9 grams on a calibrated scale. Yes it’s counterstamped and has the surface of a humid Filipino climate, and I know these are struck on irregular planchets, but does the weight tolerance go this low for these?
For what it’s worth i tested it on the magnetic slide and ping, it’s definitely high purity silver.
Very curious and looking forward to your thoughts 
Highly enthusiastic about world coins, contemporary circulating counterfeits and unusual stuff
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Good pickup! I just missed that one last week.
If I recall correctly Riddell suspected that 1830s Zacatecas had had dies stolen, I have seen a few pretty good counterfeits. Specific gravity testing via water displacement is a must. Just my opinion, although 24.9 is low, I have seen a decent number of genuine worn coins that are about that weight.
Sorry for grabbing it first sir. Good idea on the specific gravity testing. I generally don’t because it’s tedious. Instead i use a footlong magnetic slide and a stop watch which gives me a good idea of silver purity vs. something like copper. But of course it’s not as exact as specific gravity. And thanks for the historical info as well
Highly enthusiastic about world coins, contemporary circulating counterfeits and unusual stuff
No apology necessary, glad you got it, cool coin and a very good deal!
I hear you on SG testing being tedious. I used to do it for everything. My experience has been that the debased Zacatecas and Durango cap and rays dated 1830s - 1840s have used good looking dies but the metal/wear pattern makes them look suspect. My opinion based on looks and the relatively correct weight (given the wear) is that is that your coin is genuine.
So the specific gravity came in at 9.995. Interesting! Also worth noting at 40mm it’s slightly larger in diameter than reference says. Perhaps a genuine counterstamp on a debased CC? I wonder how it would get treated if i send it in for slabbing
Highly enthusiastic about world coins, contemporary circulating counterfeits and unusual stuff
Very intriguing result. It does seem to have a bit of environmental damage and maybe a subsequent cleaning, perhaps that would help explain the lower SG. Or maybe the Zacatecas mint did actually have some "low standard" issues... I have more questions than answers!
As do i, but actually i’m happy with that. More interesting to me than if it were just a straighforward non head-scratcher. This is how we learn
Highly enthusiastic about world coins, contemporary circulating counterfeits and unusual stuff
The strike and pattern of weak seems to be alittle unusual. The Eagle is somewhat bolder than what is typically seen. I am not questioning authenticity…. Zs 8R coinage is known for inconsistencies.
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