MEXICO, Colonial. Carlos IV. King of Spain, 1788-1808. AR 8 Reales (39.5mm, 26.53 g, 12h). Contemporary counterfeit issue. Dated 1803 Mo FM.

Electronic Auction 475
Lot: 706. Estimated: $ 300

World, Silver

Sold For $ 375. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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MEXICO, Colonial. Carlos IV. King of Spain, 1788-1808. AR 8 Reales (39.5mm, 26.53 g, 12h). Contemporary counterfeit issue. Dated 1803 Mo FM. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Crowned coat-of-arms between Pillars of Hercules. GNL#1803-O: D/R: Mo FT-003. Toned. Good Fine. Very rare.

From the Toliver Besson Collection. Ex Stack's Bowers Galleries (& Ponterio) 182 (10 January 2014).

From the Stack’s Bowers Galleries (& Ponterio) catalog:

A very interesting and quite convincing contemporary counterfeit of near proper style. A sole genuine example of the 1803-FM 8 Reales first surfaced in the 1981 Money Company auction as lot #534. This discovery puzzled numismatists at the time, as the assayer's initials were previously unknown for this date. The existence of coins dated 1802 and 1803 with the assayer letter FF over FM further complicated the issue, giving reason for such a coin to exist. The money company example was tested in the 1990's for metal contents as well as using digital overlays to confirm the die style as genuine. This second example is of a different die paring, slightly light in weight at 26.53 gms. Further tests were conducted on this piece using specific gravity and XRF testing showing the metal purity to be just over 63% fine with traces of copper, nickel, zinc and lead (thus confirming it a contemporary forgery). A very interesting and academic piece, worthy of collecting as an inexpensive yet convincing contemporary example of this VERY RARE coin.

Closing Date and Time: 26 August 2020 at 13:55:00 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.