Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

I've gotten on this kick lately with pirates. Maybe it was after Pirates of the caribean, but I've started collecting 1740-1800 doubloons, escudos, reales and the like, okay if been drooling over the Escudos/doubloons, aby one her interested in them?:woohoo:

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

No doubloons or escudi, but I do have a bunch of 2-reale pieces (the original 2-bits) They date from the late 1700's, Bolivia and Mexico mints mostly.

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

two bits means it two pieces of the origenal, or is it one piece?

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

They are the coined 2-reales so actually they are the 'second' two-bits :smile:

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

oh, thanks, I saw two bit, sliver of eight on ebay a while back, wish I knew what it was I want one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:elefant:

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

Been collecting since the 60s. Most of mine go back to the older "cob" styles, the first true coins of the New World from the C&J issues forward.

Top is a nice 8 reales portrait of Charles III, earlier cobs below. All of these recently passed through eBay believe it or not. Material like this is very scarce and only once in a blue moon ever offered on eBay.

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

Images seem to post in the order opposite of the downloads. Anyway......

The "cut bits" you saw were probably actual "bits" as you describe, rather than the fractional coins. The larger 8 reale coins were often cut into 1/8, 1/4, or 1/2 sections to serve as change for the larger coins. When buying such pieces, watch for scalloped edge cuts as these are the more desirable and usually "genuine" in the sense that they were cut back during the actual time period rather than being later "cuts" from genuine coins made and artificially re-toned for the collecting community. Sometimes it is very hard to tell a contemporary period "bit" coin from a later "cut", but either way, most all are taken from genuine coins.

Spanish Colonial coins are a very interesting topic and field of collecting, but watch out for the usual counterfeit problems, and stay away from the overly hyped "shipwreck" coins as much as possible. Those are a dime a dozen, often faked, and very few of the genuine ones warrant high enough grades or lack of corrosion to be considered "choice" to serious collectors. Most collectors scoff at eBay as a source of nice Spanish Colonial pieces, but every once in awhile something scrolls through that will surprise even those of us who have been collecting for decades.

Here is a true "Royal" striking of an 8 reale "cob" recently sold in the NYINC Ponterio Sale...... VERY RARE to see any cob with this much detail (even a Royal) and these were generally made with special dies and planchets for the sole purpose of presenting to reigning royalty as presentation pieces. Compare this one to the cobs above.

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

thanks for the info, I have actually seen a lot lately on ebay, the cobs that is. I did speak to a dealer that use to have a lot of them, they seem to have become very popular in the past two years. he said he could never sell them and let them go cheap...figuires I'm always in the right place at the wrong time!!!!!
Anyways, I have a few books on them also.:ARMS1:

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

Some of us do. My 1776 won't compare to yours though.

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

that is a nice 1776

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

I put in a bid for this coin, but am currently outbid:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...e=STRK:MEBI:IT

Any good?

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

The coin appears to be "genuine", but there is alot of corrosion to the obverse and some lesser degree to the reverse, indicating it is likely a sea-salvaged piece. I would stay away from salvaged bust-type reales because non-salvaged coins are much more desirable to collectors due to lack of corrosion problems.

Re: Any one collect doubloons, escudos, or reales?
 

not too argue Au but when I have searched it seems to me that the salvaged ones seem to be worth more...but that coin looks pretty good to me, but I don't know what those prices are in relation to dollars. I have a couple from that year that went for 50-200, didn't pay that but that is what they are/where supposedily worth.:beer: