From: Ricardo R. writes:Â I’ve been investigating Spanish history and consulting numismatics in my city (Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do Sul) to try to identify this coin. I found similar coins but not with the stamp “1280”. The numismatist here told me that the only explanation for this is an error of striking the coin. I really would like to do an evaluation of this coin and know more about it. Can you help me? Thank you.
This is a Spanish 2 Reales struck in Madrid, Spain sometime between 1813 and 1820 (the dates of the Assayer GJ. You provided the reverse but it is not published here). All the elements of the design were punched into the die not the coin. Therefore, one could assume that the “8” and the “2” were accidentally punched in the wrong location creating the date 1280 instead of 1820. However, in my opinion, this is not the case for the following reasons:
1. There would be many more coins with the same error as one set of dies was capable of striking tens of thousands of coins.
2. The style of the date is close but incorrect. If you view other examples of coins from the same mint in the same year, you will see that the numerals are the incorrect style and shape. What has happened here is that the date was planed off and a new date punched in to create a provocative error.
The image to the left is a black and white negative for analysis
The top date is from a Madrid 8 Escudos. Notice that the “8” has equal spaces. The diagonal of the “2” in the “error” date intersects the base before its end The top of the “1” is wrong in the bottom picture
