1770/60 FM 8 Reales: ANACS VF30: Mexico City Mint

Description

1770/60 FM 8 Reales
Carolus III
Mexico City
Mint
In 1770 there were 2 different 8 Reales issued by the Mexico City Mint.
They were the 1770 FM and the 1770 MF.
Use of refurbished dies from the previous year, in cases where the last digit or 2 were not completely removed resulted in the creation of 3 types of overdates.
They were:
1770/60 MF, 1770/60 FM, and 1770/69 FM.
The one being offered for sale is the 1770/60 FM.
It is a rare coin.
Gilboy gives it a rarity rating of R3, indicating there are 11-25 pieces known.
Assayers
The practice at the mint was to identify the assayers by placing the senior assayer’s initial above that of the junior assayer, using the initial of what we call “the first name” in the United States of America.
At the beginning of the year Manuel Assorin (1754-70) was the senior assayer and Francisco Antonio de la Pena y
Flores
(1762-84) was the junior assayer, making the initials MF.
During the year Manuel Assorin departed, making Francisco Antonio de la Pena y
Flores
the senior assayer when Manuel de la Rivera (1770-77) became the junior assayer, changing the initials to FM.
Knowing who the assayers were was of the utmost importance, because it acknowledged which individuals were to be held responsible for guaranteeing the weight and purity of the metal used in the production of the coinage.
This was a responsibility to the King.
An unacceptable variation in weight/purity of the coinage would cause a reduction in its use, which would be destabilizing to the Kingdom.
Unacceptable errors were met with significant punishment to the assayers, ranging from large losses of personal property, to execution.
Overdates
How to recognize this overdate, (1770/60):
All you are really looking for is the number 6, or some remnant of it, being also where the second 7 is.
You have already looked where the 0 is and see no indication of the number 9, so you know this is not a 1770/69.
What does the number 6 look like at this Mint, at this time period?
Look at a 1769 8 Reales from the Mexico City Mint to see this.
The number 6 was initially carved into the die.
In cases like this one, the die engraver attempted to “remove” the 6, but was not 100% successful in doing so.
If he was completely successful, we would not have anything to see.
Since a “valley” was carved into the die to create the number which stood out from the surface of the coin, some part of the protrusion, or “mountain range” of the metal that formed the 6 will still remain.
You want to hold the coin at an angle, use good light, and a magnifier, to see if any metal sticks out where the 6 would be.
It will look different from a blob of metal that is caused from a die crack.
ANACS grades this coin as a VF-30. The chop marks indicate this coin was used in Trade in the Far East (China). Mexico City 8 Reales from the beginning of Milled coinage (1732) through 1771 were 91.7% pure silver and had an official average weight of 27.0674 grams.
Because of the high quality of the coin it was used extensively worldwide.
PRICES:
My price reference is 2015 North American Coins & Prices David Harper Editor (24th Edition).   The prices listed for the 1770/60 FM are: VG8 = 0.00, F12 = 5.00, VF20 = 0.00, XF40 = 5.00.
Realize that it can be difficult to put price estimates on rare coins that do not trade often.
Photography:
The physical appearance of a coin will differ depending on the type and intensity of the light under which we view the coin.
I use a 100 watt incandescent light bulb at a distance of about 1 foot.
Sales Information
DOMESTIC SALES - FREE SHIPPING.
Tracking Numbers:
I will post a tracking number after I ship to you.
INTERNATIONAL SALES
I am now currently making international sales.
As I understand it, if you can see my listing, you can buy it from outside the USA.  My shipping it to Kentucky is free to you.  The part about getting your coin from Kentucky to you has all been worked out by Global Shipping.  Supposedly, you can see your mailing costs, etc.
Payment
As I understand it, you are restricted to using only Paypal as has been the case for many years.
I would appreciate your paying me in a timely fashion after the close of the sale.
Other Information
My shipment to you
:  The 8
th
largest city in the USA no longer has a Post Office open after 5:00PM Monday through Friday. My mail route is “a training route” so I no longer have any idea who is going to be delivering my mail, or at what time of day.  I am not going to leave a -0 coin outside to be picked up by “whomever”.  Given all of this, if you win and pay for a coin this morning, it probably won’t be put in the mail this afternoon.  They are taken to the Post Office to be mailed.
Returns:
This is a collector coin and not just some chunk of silver bullion.  If you do not feel that this coin is “right for you” after you have examined it, send an email letting me know it is coming back to me.  Return shipping cost is at the buyer’s expense.  Return it at your convenience, preferably within 14 days. The shipping to you is at my expense for domestic shipping.
This is an old collector’s coin, and you and I both know, as coin collectors, sometimes a coin that looks good from photos does not measure up to our expectations.  After you have looked at it, if you decide that it is “not for you”, you don’t have to list a bunch of reasons why you have decided you do not want it.  Just let me know that you will be sending it back so that I will know to expect it.  I have other old 8 Reales.  If for some reason you don’t feel satisfied with this coin, that doesn’t mean you won’t be happy with the next one you win.
Please read everything I have stated to you about this coin, if I have made any specific comments about it.  If there is something of interest to you about the coin that I did not explain to you in this listing, send an email.
I want you to be satisfied with what you get.
I want to build a positive business relationship with you, not just “get a sale”.