(312) The Mexican Coin Answer Man: Volume 1 Issue 3: Last Revision: 05/03/05

As could be expected we don’t have too many questions for this issue, but we will attempt to answer those we have received.  Additionally, we have received a few comments that show what some people think about Mexican Coin Magic.

Question #1:  “Smiley Face” Rick, a Canadian reader writes:

Hello, I have 3 “8 reales” I purchased in Thailand. I believe them to be G, VG, F.  The inscription: 8R Zs 1884 I.S. 10Ds. 20Gs.  I have searched the internet several hours with no result.  Are you familiar with this coin?

Answer: No, Rick I’m not, but what you probably have is three Zacatecas 8 Reales that are Zs 1884 J.S. coins.  The second initial of the assayer that you list as an “I” is really what we call a narrow “J”.  If you will examine the attached scan you will note the small hook at the bottom of the second initial that indicates it really is a “J”.  This DAM (Date/Assayer/Mintmark) is a common 8 Reales from the Zacatecas Mint, especially in the grades you listed.  The coin reproduced here is one in high-grade and generally sells for about $50 to $75.  I hope this answers your question? 

A Word of Caution Rick:  There are some bad guys in the Far East that are making modern Fake Mexican 8 Reales and U.S. Morgan Silver Dollars and if your coins don't look like the one below, especially the Eagle, they could be Fakes.  This Mexican Eagle was used in the Zacatecas Mint after 1883 and most of the Fakes have an eagle that looks more like a skinny chicken than the proud Mexican Eagle. 

 FoxLair Variety# Zs-1884-1103a

Question #2: Dr. S, from Houston, Texas writes:

Your O 1864 FR is a nice toned coin, but it’s only XF-AU.  As per your envelope, it’s ex Richard Long Sale 78 Lot #518.  Long describes it in the catalog as “Choice well struck XF-AU”.  It was hammered down at $95.  Your price was $280, and I don’t think that XF-AU prices have increased that much since 1995.

Answer:  Well Doc, I never said the coin was a BU, but I want you to examine this coin closely and the one found on the bottom of page 331 of Resplandores (Oa13).  It is difficult to see it in the photograph in “the book”, but look at the Dot after “MEXICANA”.  Please note that it is not a DOT, but another, “6^th Berry” on a long stem sticking out from the laurel wreath.  At this time I have seen only four examples of this variety and all are from the same die pair, making me believe it may be a single die coin as all have had a telltale diagnostic: A Repunched 0/0 in “20G^S.”, which appears only on this variety.  This is FoxLair variety Oa-1864-1101 and I believe it is well worth the asking price of $280 because Dunigan & Parker state:  “This date is scarce.”

The second FoxLair variety for the O 1864 FR is the Oa-1864-1201, it appears to be the more common variety and it has a normal DOT after “MEXICANA”.  This variety also has a telltale diagnostic on the Eagle side:  Notice the Repunched "X" in "MEXICANA".

These two varieties didn’t “fit” into the scheme of things for Resplandores varieties, but I believe they are important for several reasons:

• This particular “6^th Berry” on a long stem sticking out from the laurel wreath, shows up on several different mints’ 8 Reales, but has not been found on any Mexico City 8 Reales that I’m aware of at this time.  
• So Who, When and Where were these style dies made?
• And How and Why did they show up on multiple mints' 8 Reales?

Close Up scans of the two varieties of O 1864 FR 8 Reales

                                                FoxLair Variety# Oa-1864-1101                         FoxLair Variety# Oa-1864-1201

Question #3: Bill, from San Antonio, Texas writes:

I just bought a 1P mo 1887 m and when I took the scan of it and blew up the picture to max (as I always do) I noticed that there was an overdate. Do any of you know of an 87 over 77 for this date? 

Could you see the overdate in the picture I sent you in my last email?  It sure looks an overdate to me.  If you do not have a scan of the overdate for the 1P MoM 1887 in your records let me know.

Answer:  The coin in question took several emails to clear up because Bill S sent a very high resolution scan of a very small area of the coin and it became bleary when I received it.  Finally we realized Bill was questioning a Gold 1 Peso and he had misattributed it as a 87/77.  Here is our answer to Bill:

• I personally don’t believe there is a 87/77 overdate because this would mean that the Mexico City Mint would have a single die laying around for 10 years that was reused. 
• However, there is some indication that Mexico City sent the “state or branch” mints a three digit logotype dated “188_” where the 2^nd 8/7 when they shipped out the new Style of 1888 dies, matrixes or hubs. 
• We have logged several sales of Unlisted Overdates for the Mo 1888 M gold 1 Peso, but to date have never seen any Overdates for the Mo 1887 M gold 1 Peso.  I told Bill that we would love to see the coin and scan it.

A Side Note:  We would like to offer our readers a little information about scanning coins at this time that could be useful for other collectors. We have found that 720 dpi scans saved in a Tif format to be the best scan for small coins such as the gold 1 Pesos, ½ Escudos, the silver ½ Reales, etc.  While this creates a rather large file, it allows you to step up or increase the magnification and blow up small areas of the scans at least 200% before they become fuzzy.  Then if you want to email these scans you can convert them to a Jpg format.  If you elect to keep your scans in the Jpg format then be aware that each time you increase or step on them, either going up or down, they lose 30% to 35% of the dots in the scan, which causes an unsuitable degradation of the scans.  We have also found that you may enhance your scans by using a matte red background for highly reflective silver coins, a bright blue background for gold coins and a iridescent yellow for copper coins or brass trial strikes.  By the way we scan larger coins: 4 and 8 Reales, 4 and 8 Escudos, and 10 and 20 pesos at 360 dpi.  I hope this information helps you make better scans?

Some comments about Mexican Coin Magic from our readers:

Comment #1: R.S. from Kansas writes:

I’m into the latest edition of your electronic journal and congratulate you guys for putting together a stimulating and informative collection of articles. I will read every one of them as I get up to speed after our trip.

Comment #2: J.M. from the Midwest writes: 

My reaction after reading the information, is that it is written towards the “intermediate” (which I consider myself one) and advanced collectors.  Some beginning collectors could be overwhelmed.  It would appeal to others as a challenge.  With the exception of editorial editing, don’t change.

Comment #3: Disgruntled in Miami writes:

Are you guy’s nuts?  Nobody in their right mind wants to know anything about Mexican coins.  Why don’t you do something useful like tell us something a the new us state quarters?

Another thing, your website is boring. Where are the music and flying dirtdobbers? And all that writing and pictures of those stupid coins, who gives a big r___ a__ about them?  Not me for sure.

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