So there's been a
ebay seller out of Louisiana who for the last 6 months or so has been listing dozens of Cap & Ray 8R, all quite clearly all out of a land hoard (many showing at least slight trace of environmental impact, some more pronounced than others).
The pieces have all been dated in the 1830s - nothing later, maybe 1 or 2 1820s pieces. They all have shown light to no circulation wear. Sensibly, late 1830's-early 1840s would be a near certainty for the date of the hoard. They have been from a mix of mints... I'd say Zacatecas has been most frequent, but there have been a good number of Guanajuato plus a some Potosi, a few Durango and Mexico City. Lastly, and notably, was one rare EoMo piece.
All of them, to me, appear to be "regal" or, at the very least, from regal punches. No obvious contemporary counterfeit by appearance.
So, to tie in to the discussion above regarding alloy content, whether pieces with lead/no gold might hint at British origin...
Just to employ some common sense when analyzing this hoard... Given the variety of mint marks represented, the dating, location, history... likely dealing with something out of Texas or Louisiana, perhaps relating to the conflict over Texas right at that time. The most probable thought process, for me: Even though New Orleans was a hub of international commerce where many foreign coins were exchanged/used... given the variety of Mexico mints present, these coins likely are not some type of European import, but rather something ultimately out of Mexico relating to Louisiana being a gateway to the Texas portion of Mexico.
Interesting then to see this from a buyer who bought a few of these pieces (1831Go, 1835Zs) and got them XRFed. Basically seems like an example of a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing... Made no mention of gold presence (the one XRF readout shown showed none), but noted traces of lead found. From the way he phrased things, the presence of lead presumably brought him to the claim he makes that they're cast (which these pieces ABSOLUTELY are not).
Bob, I assume you've looked at these pieces before... Thoughts on them in general and this XRF result shown (lead on the 1831Go... presumably the 1835Zs as well, even though he didn't show a pic of that readout)? Have you bought any for study? (I have not... they're selling too high given the environmental damage - missed one or two BIN that were worth the price numismatically).
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Posted 07/27/2024 10:16 pm
