(1211) The Back Page: Volume 3 Issue 11: Last Revision: 08/30/08

Originally we had two other short articles (by MCM readers and new writers) scheduled for this section, but Bill Sigl wrote this article for us when he found out we were having an introduction to the 1 Real coins in our (1217) Let’s Talk About Minors section. These two articles will be seen later, probably in Issue #13.   

Republic 1 Real Variety Collecting…

Over-The-Top Enjoyment

By Bill Sigl

I am a fanatical collector of Mexican Republic 1 Real varieties.  It is not a hobby with me, but more of a passion.  I would like to share some of my passion for 1 real variety collecting with you by highlighting the reasons for collecting them, and showing you a few examples of the more interesting varieties you could collect. 

If you are interested in 1 Real varieties too, send me an email at gard372-snioc@yahoo.com. I enjoy emailing my variety collecting friends almost as much as I enjoy collecting 1 real varieties.

I hope someday you will join me in this pursuit.

Why Collect Republic 1 Real Varieties?

Low Cost

Collecting varieties of Mexican Republic 1 Real coins is incredibly low cost, relative to the rarity of the varieties.  There are several reasons for the low cost:

1) More varieties exist for the common Date/Mint/Assayer (DMA) combinations than for the rare DMA’s. In years where many coins are produced, more dies are also produced. If the dies are not hubbed, it means that the odds are greater that some will be noticeably different from other dies, and some of these may be major differences.  Because they occur for common DMA’s, the prices are generally low.

2) It is not widely known which varieties are common and which are rare.  Major varieties have mostly all been identified by now, but nothing has been published to date on the rarity of these varieties.  I have observed the occurrences of major varieties in the marketplace for 5 years, and even that period of observation has been insufficient to completely identify the relative rarity.  After a few years of collecting varieties and networking with other variety collectors some of this info may become apparent to you, giving you a competitive advantage. 

3) There are few serious variety collectors of Mexican Republic series, resulting in low prices for even major varieties.  I am convinced that many varieties of 1 Real coins have 10 or fewer examples, but there are enough varieties available, and so few variety collectors that you could probably get a coin of such rarity in low grade for $25 or less.  At these prices, you don’t have to be a rich collector in order to be a major player in this field.

4) Among variety collectors there is not as much pressure to collect high-grade coins as among DMA or type collectors. 

Close Knit Community of Variety Collectors

Collecting Mexican Coins is extremely enjoyable, because in order to do it well, you have to get to know and interact with other collectors.  After a while of doing this, you get to know who the variety collectors are, and you get to know them fairly well.  This is a small and close-knit group of collectors.  I have never had as much fun collecting coins of any sort as when I started collecting Mexican Republic varieties.  This is because I could compete with my collecting friends, admiring their acquisitions, and showing my discoveries with them.   Interaction with others of similar interests is what makes variety collecting the most enjoyable.

Your Participation May Be Meaningful

You can make an impact on the body of knowledge about the varieties you collect if you are just observant, methodical, and are willing to share what you learn with others.

Classification of Varieties

Variety collecting is not the same as error collecting.  Errors are made by mistake, whereas each variety is purposely made from a set of dies created for the purpose of producing coin of the realm.  Do not mistake a variety for the natural deterioration of a die.  A coin struck from a die early in the life of the die will look very different from a coin struck at the end of a die’s life.  However even a coin with die cracks, cuds, flow lines, and worn lettering is not considered by me to be varieties.  Often in the production of coins, the dies came together without a planchet.  This die clashing alters the impressions from these dies.  I do not consider coins produced from clashed dies to be varieties, since it is a result of the die deterioration process.

The following picture is an example of a die in a later state of deterioration.  Notice that there is erosion into the tops and bottoms of each of the letters.

There are major varieties, and minor varieties.  Major varieties can be classified into many categories:

• Overdates

• Over mintmarks

• Mintmark superscript, or lack of one

• Over assayers

• Repunched letters

• Multiple impressions of a hubbed device or punch.  Double dies are common, and I have even seen triple dies.

• Eagle or cap punch from the wrong denomination

• Reversed letters

• Incorrect letters (misspelled words)

• Number of stars on the obverse (0, 1, or 2)

• Presence or absence of 1 or more dots

• Changes in cap style

• Changes in eagle style

• Large/intermediate/small lettering

Minor varieties are innumerable.  A study of minor varieties can only be done when a die study of the 1 real series is systematically done.  Each different die is a different minor variety, since there are no 2 dies that are exactly the same, even when they were hubbed.

Where the Action Is

Variety collecting in the 1 Real series can have the most fun with DMA’s from the Guanajuato mint.  From 1825 thru the mid 1850’s the coins of this mint had MANY major style changes, and some incredible varieties.  From the mid 1850’s thru the end of the series the coins of Guanajuato get too predictable and boring except for overdates.  The fun to be had with coins from this mint cannot be over stated!!!  They are extremely varied, and the prices are very reasonable.  Some of these varieties are truly unbelievable!

Culiacan is similar to Durango in that most of the action here is in the form of overdates.  Three different eagle styles occurred, but I have not found instances of multiple eagle styles existing in a single year.  The coins of this mint are rather scarce and expensive, making collecting them tough if you are on a budget.

The Durango mint is interesting to collect, mainly for those who are intrigued by overdates.  In the 1830’s and 1840’s in particular there are overdates in almost every year.  This mint must have really tried to conserve the steel because they reused their dies until they wore out.  There were a number of style changes in this mint, but not many instance of there being multiple styles in the same year.  While interesting, the Durango 1 real coins are usually pretty scarce and high priced, making variety collecting much more costly.

Guadalajara has a lot of overdates, and over assayers.  There are also instances of omitted mintmark superscripts.  However coins from this mint are scarce to rare and varieties will be costly.

The GC mint has lots of overdates and a few missing stars.  These coins are scarce though, and you will find yourself competing with DMA collectors and type collectors for available examples from this mint.

Hermosillo only produced 1 real coins for a few years.  However you can get a real kick out of examining these coins because of the crude way that they were made.  They also have the Sonoran Eagle from Culiacan, which gives them a distinctive appearance.  Be prepared to spend some serious money on these though.

Coins from Mexico City in this series are surprisingly rare, and are generally pretty uniform and predictable.  You will not see a lot of variety action from this mint I am afraid.

Potosi’s 1 real coins are generally pretty scarce.  Many varieties exist, and the coins are interesting because of the primitive appearance of many of their coins.  However, this mint is expensive to collect compared to Guanajuato and Zacatecas.

Zacatecas is very interesting to collect for varieties in the 1820’s and 1830’s, when almost every coin you look at is a different major or minor variety.  In the 1840’s you had a eagle style change, but after that, it gets pretty predictable.  The nice thing about Zacatecas is that the coins from this mint are very low cost.

It Does Not Get Any Better Than This

In this last section I will show and describe for you some of the more interesting varieties in the series.  These are not chosen because of their rarity, but rather because of their simple audacity.

My all time favorite variety is the ‘Dyslexic N’ variety that occurs in Guanajuato in 1830 and 1831.  What makes this variety unbelievable is that it occurs for 2 different years!  Were these die sinkers blind?????  It is understandable that this major error could occur once, but why would it be repeated again the next year?  Even more unbelievable is that this variety also exists with another eagle style in 1831.  Will wonders ever cease?

Here is a good example of the type of problem that develops when a mint tried to reuse a die for more than 2 years.  There gets to be so many overdates that you cannot even tell the date.  This type of problem occurs mainly for Durango and Zacatecas coins.  Also notice that the ‘S’ superscript is upside down.

This next picture identifies an interesting variety of 1829 in Guanajuato. Date punches for 2 different denominations are used on the same die.  This illustrates the lack of quality control exercised in some of the early Mexican mints.

This is another coin to scratch your head at.  Zacatecas did not start producing 1 Reales until 1826, but here we have an 1827 over 1817.  Also, after making the mistake in the die sinking process the maker did not even make an attempt to grind off the ‘1’ before over striking it with a ‘2’.

There are many more examples of interesting varieties that I could highlight, but my picture file is not as extensive as my variety collection. 

As you can see from the above pictures, there are a lot of really over the top varieties in the Mexican Republic 1 Real series, which presents collectors like me endless opportunities to have fun on a budget.

Have fun, and stay in touch.