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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Photos of coins previously asked about

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Expert: Brad Swain - 1/18/2010


Question

Coins 1 of 2 photos
Brad,

Here is the 1st of 2 photos of the coins which I previously asked you about today (18 Jan. 2010)

Keith Fitzgerald

Answer
Hi Keith, they 'look' genuine but weighing them would be an important clue.
1. It appears to be a silver dollar sized Spanish-Peruvian 8 Reales. That design features King Charles IV (1788-1808). The J and P are the Lima mint's assayers' initials. The Lima mintmark is a monogram of LIMAE. It should weigh 27.0674 grams and would contain .7797 of an ounce of silver. Collector value depends on date, number minted and condition of a coin, including amount of wear, any dents, scratches or cleaning. There were 4.2 million minted that year. This one may be worth about $25 with heavy wear to maybe $75 with moderate wear to possibly $100 with light wear.
2. Philippines 1 Peso 1897 Spanish King Alfonso XIII (1886-1931). There were 6 million minted that year. This coin should weigh 25.0 grams and would contain .7234 of an ounce of silver. Collector value may be worth about $15 with heavy wear to around $40 with moderate wear to maybe $65 with light wear.
3. U.S. Philippines (1898-1946) 50c 1944S, 19.2 million minted in San Francisco (S), 10.0 grams, .2411 of an ounce of silver. Collector value may be worth about $4.50 with wear to maybe $6 with no wear (uncirculated).
4. This one may have been plated for use as jewelry.
It's what is known as a Maria Theresia Thaler. They were originally struck by Austria and portray the empress who reigned 1740-80. The coin was used as an unofficial trade dollar in Africa and the Near East and nearly a billion were restruck with the same date by many world mints well into the later 20th century.
The original is a silver dollar sized Maria Theresia thaler, which in the 19th century was quite simply the thaler of the Levant, vied especially with the Spanish peso as a coin of trade and was in widespread use throughout south-eastern Europe, present-day Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula and large parts of Africa. In Greece, for example, it was taken out of circulation only in 1882.
Instrumental in the spread of the Maria Theresia thaler was the coffee trade. In Ethiopia it was in circulation by the end of the 18th century and was the official currency from the beginning of the 19th century to 1936, when the country was occupied by Italy. The Maria Theresia thaler continued to be struck even later, for example, in Rome, London (until 1961) and even in Bombay. Today the Vienna mint continues to produce small amounts of the coin.
It should weigh 28.0668 grams and would contain .7517 of an ounce of silver and may be worth a little bit above that if uncirculated depending on collector demand.
Check here for differences in originals and restrikes: http://www.jdsworld.net/article/m_theresa_thalers.html
Current gold and silver values: http://www.kitco.com/market/ .
You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, pricing and more info on all these.
Brad

Brad Swain

Expertise

I have been a World Coin and Paper Money collector since about 1965. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have on World coins or currency, tokens, unusual or unknown pieces and attempt to give you estimates of value and historical information about them in a polite and prompt manner.

Experience

45 years collecting coins and paper money.

Education/Credentials
BA History, BA Geography - Virginia Tech

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