Vfox

I got a damn lucky haul today! $7.00 face silver washer quarters $5.30 face silver rosey dimes $0.20 face silver merc dimes $0.10 face silver George VI dime $12.50 face of 90% silver and a silver Canadian...50% i think dime. WOOT! I nearly dropped a brick when I came into work today!

Dave, that notes great...if you don't mind me asking, how much did it run you? I wouldnt mind picking one up.

I agree, those are very well designed and very pretty notes.

I'm still out until 1660, lol.

Been a while since I've had any notes to add to this thread. Sorry for the crappy photo, I need to take better ones later. All original, all rough...oddly the three cent fractional is in decent shape compared to the other ones that are full of folds and tears...meh. I loves me my cheap old paper!

Hah, is that a porcupine?

Although I think King Ferdinand VII looks like a goon on this coin I do like the style it was done in. You can tell this was a stylized portrait made by someone without a clear picture of what they were going to create. I wonder if any sketches exist from the master engraver? The interesting part about it is that this is the second incarnation of this type of bust, the previous KM# 106.1 (mine is 106.2) was in a very similar style. The fact that the engraver redesigned the dies is interesting and I wonder what his influence was to do so. If you compare Portugal's coinage from this same time period, or even Spain's mainland coinage to the colonial issues you can see a huge difference in quality control. This coin was even struck from a somewhat rusty die because there are areas that are raised off the coin that mimic rust spots I've seen on others. These are not to be confused with casting bumps like a counterfeit though, they have a different look to them. You also have to think about the tools at Spain's disposal in the colonies and who was actually in power during this time period. King Ferdinand VII had to relinquish power to Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleons brother)in 1808 just months after he started his reign, until 1813 when the Bonaparte's were ousted from power. So most of the colonies were a bit lower on the kings priorities and certainly only the colonies (which some didn't even know or care that Ferdinand VII wasn't upon the throne...pshh loyalists!) continued to mint 8 reales with King Ferdinand VII's image. The odd part is that Joseph actually revalued the 8 reale coin as 20 reales, (inflation much?) I am not certain of the reason behind it, maybe something to do with the way France's money was divided up. The coin I have above is a bit different than most of the ones of this type I've seen. If you look at the front of the head there is a small sprig of hair that protrudes outward. This hair style existed on 106.1 but normally not on 106.2 and I have to imagine that the die engraver messed up and carved in an extra bit of hair similar to the first issue style. I am curious because it is not a die crack and certainly is on the die, it's an interesting die marker and I think I may see if I can track down images of others struck from this same obverse. I always liked a good detective story...lol. Okay, I'm rambling a bit much....shh..quiet fox.

Okay so it's only been 4 days since my last update...this only took two days to hit my doorstep, lots faster than I expected! Anyway...this is quite a screwball in the 8 reale series. It is the "Lima bust" version in the series and is basically a made up image of King Ferdinand VII the engravers made while waiting for the dies to arrive from Spain...Madrid I think...not sure about that though. Here is what I have been told and read....if any of this is wrong please correct me, I really want to know as much truth about these coins as possible and the internet is flooded with falsehoods about them. This was minted in Lima Peru in 1810 and is the second of the type deemed the "Lima bust" which started being minted after King Charles IV's death in 1808. This (1810) was the second year of King Ferdinand VII's rule and obverse dies with his visage had not yet arrived in Lima. Instead of using a posthumus design with King Charles IV's visage, such as was being done in Columbia and Guatemala, the head engraver made a obverse die of what he thought the king looked like. Obviously the description was a bit off compared to what the later dies that arrived in Lima looked like. This type is rather hard to find in nice shape, this one is around a F-Vf but my grading is a bit sloppy with these because of strike issues. Anyway: 8 reale, King Ferdinand VII "Lima" bust ME mintmark, minted in Lima Peru under Spain, Assayer J.P. 26.50g 39mm

Another update today, last one for a while though. Anyway I got shafted on ebay (see my coin forum crud rant for that) but I did get a good coin as well. Granted this thing is worn pretty hard it was very cheap for the type. 1790 4 reale Charles IV designation with bust of Charles III 12.77g (13.5400 is normal but this coin is worn hard and thin planchet near Carolus) PTS mintmark Potosi Bolivia, Assayer P.R. 4 reales are always the hardest to find, much harder than the 8 reale for any type.

Thanks for correcting me on that Ccg and for looking it up! I am also partial to half cents in similar shape to that one with a slight "problem". I paid around $35 or so for it, which was about $100 cheaper than the ones in worse shape without the small dig. I was happy to pay that for it, lol. Basically they are making money on it, but for someone like me who would rather spend $70 on a coin and not a price guide about coins I went for the $30 alternative that is within my collecting field. I am glad they made that book for right now, but I know eventually I will be forced to buy all 3 1600-current Krause guides.

I got another one today! This is a one year type (1790) transitional half-reale of King Charles IIII with King Charles III bust. KM#71. 11.5mm, 1.6g, Mo Mexico City mint Mexico, Assayer F.M.

Thanks Ccg, I stopped in at Borders the other day (I don't own a normal Krause, just Spain and colonies one) and looked for the wave pattern. It does appear to be Korean, but I am not 100% sure. In any case it is only worth about a dollar or less, but it's still neat to me. Which 1/2c btw?

Well....I finally got one of the transitional types....but it's been sea salvaged and turned into a brooch/pendant. Honestly I like how this was put together, I am making a chain to wear this on currently. I was thinking about removing the solder and added items but decided to keep them as is and find another one later that is problem free. I have the other Charles III to Charles IIII transitional version 8 reale in the mail with Charles III head but IIII designation KM#108. Now all I need is the somewhat rare Charles IIII to Ferdinand VII with Ferdinand VII designation minted in 1808-1810 in Guatemala KM#64. (Chile as well but is very pricey from there) And the Lima Peru "Imaginary Bust" Ferdinand VII KM#106.1 & 106.2 and I will have all the regular issue bust 8 reales. I could get some of the provisional Ferdinand VII military bust versions but I don't consider those a normal issue, just a royalist issue. Anyway: 8 reale King Carolus IV (Charles IV) with King Charles III head. This type was minted 1789 and 1790 only. KM#107 26.84g a little small at 38mm but minted in Mexico City (Mo) Mexico, most from there are 38mm and not 39mm and are much more round. Assayer F.M.

Congrats, on the win and mass pile of notes.

A few more things: I got 30 of these Follis/Nummi type Byzantine age coins from Matt. A 1801 King Charles IIII 2 reale from Bolivia under Spain (PTS/Potosi mint) Assayer P.P. 28mm 6.81g A double struck Netherlands E Indies 1/4 Stuiver. And I need help on this one. It's the only one like this I've ever owned and I don't really know anything about it. If anyone has any information I would appreciate it.

See if you just collected everything like me you wouldn't have this problem.

Welcome back. The banknotes that are laminated are worth very little compared to an un-laminated unc. It ruins the aesthetic of the paper...because it is no longer just paper. It makes a nice display item and certainly keeps it safe from damage but it really does ruin the value of the note. It is considered damage by most.

My newest in this run of 8 reales. This is just an extra, but I got it really cheap so I'm happy to adopt it. I am almost done on the bust 8 reales, all I need are the transitional of Charles III to Charles IIII (IV and IIII with Charles III bust) and the transitional of Charles IIII to Ferdinand VII (VII with bust of Charles IIII) and I have all the bust types. 1820 8 Reale of Ferdinand VII Mint mark Mo (Mexico City) Mexico Assayer J.J. 26.56g KM#111

Always a pleasure dealing with Jeff. Items paid for very fast as always!

Anything from the 17th and 18th century in mintstate is so strange in my opinion. Imagine this is basically someones pay for the week, they stuck it in their coin purse, and then what......how do these survive like this?! Jeesh, lol.

I've been hitting the eBayz pretty hard lately.....I've bid on about 45 things....won....7 of them lol. I low-ball most of the time, I love a good deal.

I've been busy. 1811 Armored bust of Ferdinand VII Mo (Mexico City) Mexico mintmark Assayer H.J. 26.63g This has strong central details but lacks a well struck edge, it is slightly oversized at 39.5mm so it could have been struck within a loose collar. I say this because the edge is missing the ◘o◘o◘o◘o◘o◘o pattern in two spots.

I've been busy. 1811 Armored bust of Ferdinand VII Mo (Mexico City) Mexico mintmark Assayer H.J. 26.63g This has strong central details but lacks a well struck edge, it is slightly oversized at 39.5mm so it could have been struck within a loose collar. I say this because the edge is missing the ◘o◘o◘o◘o◘o◘o pattern in two spots.

This is also free and you don't have to join anything. http://www.tinypic.com/

Copied from my "Vfox's Vfinds" Here is an Brazil under Portugal 960 Reis from 1815 struck overtop a 1814 Ferdinand VII of Spain 8 Reale minted in Santiago. I really like that nearly ever example of these coins are struck atop 8 Reales and what really gets me about this is that an 1814 8 reale from Santiago is worth 10 times as much as this 960 Reis. It's an interesting example. Here is some detail of the host coin: