I’ve just added three new foreign coins to my collection, including a Mexican Reale—clever, right? Though I usually focus on U.S. coins, I can’t resist beautiful, old coins, especially when I’m parting with mint sets that don’t appeal to me. I’m not really into modern coins, to be honest.
Here’s some info about each of the new coins, along with details of the trade that brought them into my collection. I think the trade was fair, leaning slightly in my favor. But honestly, when you’re letting go of coins you don’t care for, small imbalances don’t matter much. My friend preferred having the mint sets and a few pennies over foreign coins, so it worked out well for both of us.
Take a look at the edge of the 1 onza coin—I found the “LIBERTAD” inscription pretty neat. And here are the reverses of the three coins. Similar to the photos I shared of the toned 1800s coins, the main snapshot doesn’t do justice to the Reale. So, I’ve included close-ups of both the front and back.
Notice the rainbow toning? I love that so much! Ironically, two years ago, I found most toning unattractive, but it seems my taste has evolved over time.
Picking up this Reale brought back memories of a bigger one I acquired two summers ago. The same friend who introduced me to coin collecting often tried to pass his worn-out coins my way, especially the foreign ones since we had no clue of their value.
While I usually declined, I once stumbled upon a large, hefty-looking coin that seemed silver. My friend wasn’t sure, so we decided to gamble $5. If there was no silver, he would have benefitted as the coin wouldn’t be worth much numismatically. But if silver was present, I’d benefit since silver was about $30 at the time (it’s around $20 now).
As you might have guessed, the coin contained silver—almost a full ounce, .786 ounces to be exact! So my $5 gamble paid off, turning into a value of approximately $25. It turns out many 1800s silver-looking coins, especially Mexican ones, do have silver—good tip to keep in mind!
[Funny side note: After this deal, I made three other silver bets on foreign coins from the same friend and lost them all, haha. So, ultimately, we balanced out!]
Here’s a close-up of the winning 1859 Mexican 8 Reales. Isn’t it intriguing? I love the edge design—it resembles tire tracks! And its solid, sizable nature adds to its appeal. This one’s now safely tucked in my collection box.
So, to answer today’s question—Yes, I am indeed a fan of the Reale! 😉
