Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 7/2/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi i was going through my coins and found a bunch of foreign coins and among them was one I wanted to know a little more about. it says          s
         "UN PESO.Z.1900.F.Z.902,7"   
along the bottom and theres a picture of what i think is a hat that says "LIBERTAD" on it with lines radiating from it. on the back there is an eagle on top of a cactus holding a snake with one of its talons and with its beak and it says "REPUBLICA MEXICANA." above the eagle. Thanks in advance for your help

ANSWER: Hi Julie,
This is the Mexican equivalent of a US silver dollar. This one is actually slightly higher purity silver than US coins - .9027 rather than .9000. There are also counterfeits out there. A genuine coin should weigh right around 27 grams on a scale.
Value for your coin depends on condition and starts at around $15 for a well used coin up to $75 for one in mint condition.
If you would like to post a follow-up question with a clear picture of the coin, I can give you an exact grade and value for it.
Thanks for the question! =)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok sorry for the delay in response but here are the pictures of the coin. It's a little harder than i thought to take pictures of a coin but I hope that they'll be clear enough for you.

ANSWER: Hi again Julie,
Your coin looks to be in excellent shape. One thing that concerns me is the dull color of the surface. Silver is the shiniest of all metals and this does not look like it should. It also looks like the area below the eagle is flat and not fully there. This is common with replicas that were cast in a mold. This process takes away some of the details.
It may be just a trick of the light, as is common with photographs, but I would strongly suggest having the coin weighed. In this condition it should not be below 26.9 grams.
If genuine, with a dull surface, this coin has a practical auction value of $35 to $50.
Thanks again for the question! =)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I actually weighed it when you had mentioned what it should weigh in your first answer. I'm pretty sure that it weighs 27 grams. On the scale that I have it goes between 26.9 and 27grams. I'll to get a little bit of a better picture for you I couldn't find my camera so the previous one was from my phone, sorry. So, if my coin isn't a fake where do I go from here? I'm really new to all of this. I also have a few other odd non-American coins I would like to ask you about if it isn't too much trouble...

Answer
Hi Julie,
It's no trouble at all. Ask as many questions as you need, that's what I'm here for.
The weight for your coin is right on and I can say with confidence that it's genuine. Your best bet for selling the coin is eBay, but would require an account with good feedback and preferably some recent history with selling coins. You can also consign it to be sold by a local coin shop, if there is one near you.
Thanks again for the questions, please don't forget to rate the answers! =)