HUGE colonial silver counterfeit dug today!!

[Bill D. (VA)]

My friend Reid and I finally made it back to the token site after our last hunt there about a month ago. This is the site that has been producing a load of coins and tokens from the mid-1800s to about 1910 with an occasional colonial find thrown in. We believe it was some kind of a store site although my research shows a 1700s home may have been on the same spot. We weren't expecting much in the way of quantity as we've hit this place pretty hard 3-4 times, but I was hoping a nice random find would pop up. Well, my wish came through in a big way, or at least it looked that way for a few seconds. Not long after we started hunting I dug what appeared to be a fairly large piece of junk, but upon closer inspection I realized it was half of an 8 reale!! But my bubble soon burst as I could tell it was just a silver plated fake. Bummer, but still a cool find. Being that it was passed off for a Charles IV 8 reale (Mexico mint) it was likely made by the counterfeiter between 1788 and 1808. Not sure what the inside of the coin is made of, but it's probably some kind of pot metal. Anyway, with the pressure off for the rest of the hunt I roamed the field in search of a new hotspot or another unexpected find. But other than a few early 1900s coins, 4 buttons, and an unidentified holed medallion the diggin's were rather slim. But I still went home with a big smile on my face.

 

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[Bill D. (VA)]

Congratulations Bill on that counterfeit 8 reale. That would be a great addition to anyone's collection. You mentioned that the inside of the coin was likely made of some type of pot metal. This made me wonder--was your coin actually lost? Or, after the coin was cut, was it now obvious that the coin was a plated fake and the owner of the coin simply discarded it. If the your site was actually an old storefront, maybe the proprietor discovered the counterfeit and it was trashed on the spot. Kind of makes you wonder.

I was kind of thinking the same thing. And if that were the case it would mean the other half of the coin might be nearby. I tried my best, but obviously it didn't turn up.

 

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[Bill D. (VA)]

Congrats to ya, Bill! My cousin found a counterfeit half a cut 8 reales last year as well. Pretty cool stuff.

Matt - can you post some pics of your cousin's coin? I'm curious as to the similarities (or differences) compared with mine.