I recently acquired three new foreign coins for my collection, one of which is a Mexican Reale (get it?). Although I usually focus on U.S. coins, I can’t resist beautiful old coins, especially when they appear more captivating than the mint sets I don’t care much for (I’m not really into modern coins).

Here’s some information about the three new coins I got, along with what I traded for them:

I think it was a fair trade, though it might have slightly favored me. But when you’re letting go of coins that don’t excite you, it’s easy to come to terms with that. Plus, my friend prefers mint sets and a few pennies over foreign coins, so it worked out well for both of us.

Here’s a picture showing the edge of the 1 onza coin—I love how “LIBERTAD” is inscribed there:

Here are the reverse sides of the three coins:

Similar to those photos I shared of my toned coins from the 1800s, this main shot doesn’t do the Reale justice. Here’s a close-up of the obverse and reverse for a better look:

See the rainbow effect? I love that kind of toning, funny considering two years ago, I thought it was unattractive. I guess our tastes evolve over time, right?

Finding this Reale reminded me of a larger one I got two summers ago. The same person who introduced me to coin collecting would often try to sell me his worn-out ones, particularly foreign coins since we were unsure of their value.

I usually declined, but once I stumbled upon a large, clunky coin and felt certain it was made of silver. We decided to take a $5 gamble on it. If it turned out not to contain silver, he’d win since the coin wouldn’t be worth much numismatically. But if there was silver, I’d benefit since prices were about $30 at the time (now they’re around $20).

As you can guess, the coin did contain quite a bit of silver—.786 ounces, nearly a full ounce. My $5 investment turned into roughly $25! It turns out many silver-like coins from the 1800s, especially Mexican ones, do contain silver, which is good to know.

[Funny side note: After this deal, I tried my luck with three more foreign coins from the same friend, betting on silver content, and lost each time, haha. So, we probably ended up even in the end.]

Here’s a close-up of that winning 1859 Mexican 8 Reales:

Isn’t it cool? I love the edge; it looks like tire tracks. Plus, it’s a large, solid coin, making it even more fascinating. It now resides in my collection box.

So, to answer the question posed in today’s article title—yes, I’m definitely a fan of the Reale! 😉