Expert: Brad Swain - 1/8/2010

Question
Hello,

I have a question about a coin. On one side it says 1701*Hispaniar"v" or "u" m*rex.  I can not tell if it says "v" or "u". On the same side it has two lions in opposite corners and what appears to be two castles in the other corners.  The other side says philippus*v*d*grat. The middle of the coin has a shield with a crown on the top of it.  Next to the shield on the left side has a "J" with a "b" below it.  On the right side of the shield it has an "8" with a "p" below it  

Answer
Hi Matt, It seems to be a fake of a silver dollar sized Spanish 8 Reales. That design features King Philip V (1700-46). The description doesn't match an actual design.
If you have pictures (not over 1 megabyte each please) you can email them to me at tbirde@psknet.com.
Collector value depends on date, number minted and condition of a coin, including amount of wear, any dents, scratches or cleaning.
You might find similar pieces on Ebay.com for comparison. These sites are also a great info source:
http://carlclegg.com/pillars/design.html .
http://www.coinsite.com/content/faq/8RealesMilledPillar.asp .
Counterfeits and fantasy pieces mass produced in East Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe abound of Chinese and U.S. coins, and many other countries'.
Fakes: http://reviews.ebay.com/Fake-8-4-and-2-Reales-coins-from-ASIA-BEWARE_W0QQugidZ10...
Chinese counterfeit factory: http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins/ig/Chinese-Counterfeiting-Ring/Chinese-Fake... .
Brad