Piece of Eight

[SmartTowel-migration]

A couple years ago my grandmother gave me my dad's old coin collection. There is one coin which I have been pondering for awhile and I decided I want to find out exactly what it is.

 

If it is authentic, I think it's a piece of eight or eight reales coin from 1760. It has a shield with a crown on one side and two pillars and two globes with a crown on the other side.

 

I'm not really a coin collector, so I have no idea how to tell whether it's authentic or not (I don't think it is). I would be very interested to learn the history of this coin, how to tell if it's authentic, and how much it's worth if it is authentic.

 

Any help would be appreciated!

[the_Thing ®]

If you could post a pic, or a scan, all your questions could be answered. Sounds like a piece of 8, Pillars and Waves. I would be willing to bet it IS authentic. They aren't all that rare, therefore they aren't faked very often. If you can't take a pic of the coin, you might go to ebay and search, trying to find one that looks like it, or, go to www.sedwickcoins.com and try to find one like it. He deals specifically with cob coins. The coin might also have the mint and assayer mark visible.

[the_Thing ®]

edited cause of wrong info!

[TomB]

As Thing mentioned, your coin is likely genuine as they are not rare, nor are they very expensive. However, I think Thing posted a picture of a cob that is a bit older than the coin you are writing about. If you look on ebay you will find a few of your pieces available at any given time. Still, they are mighty cool!

[the_Thing ®]

I think Thing posted a picture of a cob that is a bit older than the coin you are writing about

 

Good point Tom. That cob I pictured is from 1654. I'm not sure how long the "pillars and wave" cobs were minted. if that is even what his reales is. I have limited knowledge on spanish cobs.

[the_Thing ®]

Ok, I was way off, and it doesn't appear to be earlier pillars and waves. I'm guessing his cob is like this one..

 

 

 

Link to the ebay auction the images for from

 

web page

[SmartTowel-migration]

Yea, the picture in the above post is exactly like the coin I have. All the writing and positioning of words is the same.