This is a controversial topic to some (see my note on source, below). Today, some of these contemporary counterfeits are more valuable than the common genuine issue.It was the overwhelming popularity of Spanish silver coins in the Far East, and specifically with China, that drove various nations, including the US, to restrike portrait 8 reales in the late 1800 and early 1900's. The initial issue was a tactic in the war with Spain to discredit Spanish bullion. The technique of bonding thin silver plating to copper was developed in Sheffield in the mid 1700's and was thereafter adopted to the task of counterfeiting at Birmingham. One of the better known examples of large scale 8 reales counterfeiting was produced in Birmingham, England. These can be identified by careful examination of the design details as well as measurement of weight and specific gravity. At the time, 90% of silver dollars circulation in the US were Mexican or the earlier Spanish American issues and he reported that roughtly 1% of these were counterfeits. John Leonard Riddell, during his appointment as melter and refiner of the New Orleans Mint, cataloged a wide variety of counterfeit 8 reales in "A Monograph of the Silver Dollar: Good and Bad", published in 1845. The modern forgeries are meant to deceive collectors.Dr. Unofficial restrikes were produced after the genuine issue, were mostly faithful to design as well as silver content, and intended for bullion trade. Counterfeits, meaning those struck in the same time frame as the genuine issue, used less silver so that the counterfeiter gained by the difference in precious metal. ![]() ![]() For the 8 reales, this has been a problem for over 200 years. It's only natural that the world's most popular coins are the target of fraud. Beware the counterfeits, unofficial restrikes and modern forgeries!
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