Hi, I'm really new to Spanish coins and I just received this cob in a lot of other coins. The problem is that I don't know how to read it. So I don't know the mint, assayer, etc. I believe the date is 1709, which I assume is Phillip V, but I don't know what HIS mark looks like either. I'd appreciate anyone telling me about this coin - what it is, the grade and whether or not it's something of real value. I'm inserting a link to hi-res photos, because the forum will only let me post small images. Thanks in advance! https://plus.google.com/photos/1151...823193359185
Try researching it by looking at other examples. There are many examples online and available in auction archives from respective auctioneers' sites, and so on. I recommend looking through Sedwickcoins.com Heritage Auction Archives Coin Archives in World Coins There are many other sites out there, so don't be limited to these resources. And start looking out for fakes. Unfortunately, there are many.
Are there any "dead givaways" of a fake cob I can use to protect myself? Also, I checked some of the links that you gave me and none of them have the sort of chart I'm looking for that points to the various parts of the coin and says what they signify.
Spanish colonial coin: 2 reales, weight - 6,7668 g., silver .931 (standard). I guess that it is Lima Mint (Peru). KM#32.
Thanks for the reference. I weighed my coin and it is underweight (4.20 g), but the coin shows no signs that I can see of being cast or "modern." Now I don't know much about the fakes that are around so please take that into account. Is it possible for a coin to be that much underweight and still be genuine?
I got an email from an expert on these coins - Dan Sedwick - and he said it's almost certainly a fake being that far off on the weight. He also said that it looked cast. That part I can't see. It certainly looks struck to me, but there are probably ways to create artificial wear on the coin so that it looks that way. But being 2 grams off = that's an awful lot of loss.
