(510) The Mexican Photo Album: Volume 1 Issue 5: Last Revision: 09/10/05
In our last issue of this series we covered the ½ and 1 Escudos, this time we will look at the 2, 4 and 8 Escudos. Please remember this is a work in process and I feel sure there are many others out there that are currently uncataloged.
But first lets review a couple of items from Part 1:
For those of you interested in Contemporary Counterfeits (CC) coins, especially the 8 Reales, I highly recommend purchasing the following books, because there are many good photo reproductions in each:
Monograph of the Silver Dollar (1845) by J.L. Riddle: While an occasional original maybe found, the reprint (550 copies) produced in 1969 by the Sociedad Numismatica de Mexico is probably the only one that fits most collectors budget.
Hookneck (1997) by Clyde Hubbard and David OHarrow
Resplandores (1997) by Mike Dunigan and J.B. Parker
Lets reemphasize what the terms I use in these articles to clear the air before we go any further in this study:
Contemporary Counterfeit: This is a coin that was originally made to fool the public during the normal time frame these coins were originally manufactured, i.e., 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s. I personally believe most of the CC Mexican coins, especially the Republican ones, were made by people who had either some interest in mining or minting coins and were made in order to squeeze out extra profits from their ventures.
Fake: This is a coin, most are modern made during the 20th Century, which was made to fool coin collectors. Many were originally produced in the Middle East (Lebanon) and Far East (China and Thailand) from the late 1970s until today.
Mint Dies: These are dies that were actually produced in a Mexican mint to be used to produce good coinage.
Normal Weight Range: This is the weight range I have personally found while weighing thousands of Mexican Republic coins for the FoxLair Reference Collections©.
Spurious Coinage: These are coins that were sometimes created at a Mexican mint that were not normally of the proper fineness or weight. A few examples of these coins are: some Durango 8 Reales, the early Hermosillo 8 Reales of the 1830s and the Guadalajara 1860 8 Reales.
Here is a list of the 14 Republican Mints and the CC and Fakes I know exist for each, even though I believe this may not be a complete list.
Alamos: None
Catorce: 8 Reales
Chihuahua: 8 Reales, and 1 Escudos
Culiacan: 8 Reales, 8 Escudos, 2 Escudos, 1 Escudos, and ½ Escudos
Durango: 8 Reales, 8 Escudos, 4 Escudos, 1 Escudos, and ½ Escudos
Estado de Mexico: 8 Reales
Guadalajara: 8 Reales, 2 Escudos, ½ Escudos
Guadalupe y Calvo: 8 Reales, and 1 Escudos
Guanajuato: 8 Reales, 8 Escudos, 2 Escudos, 4 Escudos, 1 Escudos, and ½ Escudos
Hermosillo: 8 Reales, 4 Escudos, and 2 Escudos
Mexico City: 8 Reales, 8 Escudos, 4 Escudos, 2 Escudos, 1 Escudos, and ½ Escudos
Oaxaca: 8 Reales
San Luis Potosi: 8 Reales
Zacatecas: 8 Reales, 8 Escudos, ½ Escudos
Now for some new stuff
We begin Part 2 of our study by looking at 2 Escudos, which are some of the most difficult Republican coins, either in gold or silver, to find because of their overall rarity and the mystery surrounding them. However, hope is on the way for todays 2 Escudo collectors because Rob Rollos new book 2 Escudos of the Mexican Republic 1825 to 1870: A Die Study should be available in January 2006.
At this time we know for sure CC 2 Escudos can be found from the following mints. And even though we dont have scans of all of them, Rob Rollo informs me he has all but one of the verified coins photographed in his book.
Culiacan: I have found only one verified CC 2 Escudos this mint:
C 1854 CE: No Scans Available
Guadalajara: To date I have found one verified CC 2 Escudos. Additionally there are two other potential 2 Escudos that could be a CC or modern Fakes the (Ga 1869 ??) that has two reported sales with no Assayer listed or photographs and a questionable (Ga 1837 JG) that is reported to be a CC:
Ga 1860 JG: No Scans Available
Guanajuato: Only two CC 2 Escudos are verified for this mint and a questionable one (Go 1848 ??) that is rumored to exist:
Go 1860 PF: Scans Attached
Go 1862 PF: No Scans Available
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1860 PF 2 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1860-CC01
Hermosillo: Most experts agree that all 1862 Hermosillo 2 Escudos are either Contemporary Counterfeits or outright Fakes, but there are still rumors of some real coins existent for 1862:
Ho 1862 FM: No Scans Available
Mexico City: I have found only two verified CC 2 Escudos for the Mexico City Mint, but there are several others that are questionable at this time:
Mo 1831 JM: No Scans Available
Mo 1862 JM: No Scans Available
Im sure we will all learn more about the 2 Escudos and the Contemporary Counterfeits from this series after we see the lifetime work of Rob Rollo to be published in January 2006.
The 4 Escudos is a challenging series because of the overall rarity of these coins. Therefore, these coins, both real and CC are difficult to find and it is also impossible to find all of the verified CC and Fakes to scan for this article. At this time we know for sure CC 4 Escudos can be found from the following mints, even though we dont have scans of any of them:
Durango: I have heard rumors of only one CC 4 Escudos for this mint:
Do 1852 JMR: No Scans Available
Guanajuato: Today only one CC 4 Escudos is verified for this mint:
Go 1861 PF: No Scans Available
Hermosillo: There are rumors of CC Hermosillo 4 Escudos, but at this time I cant confirm it or a real 1861 Hermosillo 4 Escudo existing:
Ho 1861 FM: No Scans Available
Mexico City: As one might expect the largest number of CC 4 Escudos reported come from this mint:
Mo 1858 FH: No Scans Available
Mo 1863 CH: No Scans Available
Mo 1868 PH: No Scans Available
Mo 1874 MH: No Scans Available
At this time we know for sure CC 8 Escudos can be found from the following mints. It rather amazing to me that so few CC have showed up in the 20+ years I have been collecting them. And even though we dont have scans of all of the CC from this series we have many from the FoxLair Reference Collection©:
Culiacan: Even though there are rumors of several CC 8 Escudos from this mint I can confirm only one at this time:
C 1871 CE: Scans Attached
Contemporary Counterfeit C 1871 CE 8 Escudo FoxLair # Cn-1871-CC01
Durango: I have been able to verify a single CC Durango DAM 8 Escudos for this mint and it appears there are two slightly different dies for it:
Do 1859 CP: Scans Attached
Do 1859 CP: Scans Attached
Contemporary Counterfeit Do 1859 CP 8 Escudo FoxLair # Do-1859-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Do 1859 CP 8 Escudo FoxLair # Do-1859-CC02
Guanajuato: Unlike most other gold denominations, the Guanajuato CC 8 Escudos represent the largest number verified CC 8 Escudos:
Go 1833 MJ: No Scans Available
Go 1833 JM: No Scans Available
Go 1843 PM: Scans Attached
Go 1844 PM: Scans Attached
Go 1852 PM: Scans Attached
Go 1852 PM: Scans Attached
Go 1854 PF: Scans Attached
Go 1854 PF: Scans Attached
Go 1855 PF: Scans Attached
Go 1861 PF: Scans Attached
Go 1862 YE: Scans Attached
Go 1867 PF: No Scans Available
Go 1868 YF: Scans Attached
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1843 PM 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1843-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1844 PM 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1844-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1852 PM 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1852-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1852 PM 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1852-CC02
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1854 PF 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1854-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1854 PF 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1854-CC02
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1855 PF 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1855-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1861 PF 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1861-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1862 YE 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1862-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Go 1868 YF 8 Escudo FoxLair # Go-1868-CC01
Mexico City: I have been able to verify 12 CC Mexico City 8 Escudos, but I believe there are several other coins reported, but unconfirmed that maybe CC:
Mo 1855 GF: Scans Attached
Mo 1860 TH: No Scans Available
Mo 1861 CH: Scans Attached
Mo 1861 CH: Scans Attached
Mo 1861 CH: Pot Metal Scans Attached
Mo 1862 CH: Scans Attached
Mo 1863 CH: Scans Attached
Mo 1863 TH: No Scans Available
Mo 1867 CH: Scans Attached
Mo 1868 PH: No Scans Available
Mo 1868 CH: No Scans Available
Contemporary Counterfeit Mo 1855 GF 8 Escudo FoxLair # Mo-1855-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Mo 1861 CH 8 Escudo FoxLair # Mo-1861-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Mo 1861 CH 8 Escudo FoxLair # Mo-1861-CC02
Contemporary Counterfeit Mo 1861 CH 8 Escudo FoxLair # Mo-1861-CC03
There is an interesting story behind this coin; it came from the Pablo Gerber Collection Sale#2, Lot#443 where Spink called it a Pattern struck in silver. First, it isn't struck in silver and second it sure isn't a Pattern for any Mexico City 8 Escudo I've ever seen. I personally believe it is a Trial Strike by the counterfeiters in order to test their dies before striking any "real" de-based gold Contemporary Counterfeit coins, but like so many of my personal theories ... I can't prove this one either.
Contemporary Counterfeit Mo 1862 CH 8 Escudo FoxLair # Mo-1862-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Mo 1863 CH 8 Escudo FoxLair # Mo-1863-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Mo 1867 CH 8 Escudo FoxLair # Mo-1867-CC01
Zacatecas: At this time three CC 8 Escudos are verified for this mint including one struck in Platinum that appears to use a real Hand on Book die:
Zs 1860 MO: Platinum Scans Attached
Zs 1861 AL: Scans Attached
Zs 1865 MP: Scans Attached
Contemporary Counterfeit Zs 1860 MO Platinum 8 Escudo FoxLair # Zs-1860-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Zs 1861 AL 8 Escudo FoxLair # Zs-1861-CC01
Contemporary Counterfeit Zs 1865 MP 8 Escudo FoxLair # Zs-1865-CC01
This completes our series on the Contemporary Counterfeits and Fakes of the Republican Escudo coinage. If you find the study and listings of these coins interesting and useful please let us know and we will tackle the Republican 8 Reales next?