Chop Marked 1749 MO MF 8 R

[Al Kowsky]

I recently scored a chop marked type coin that eluded me for a long time, pictured below ☺️. Countless millions of Mexican 8 real coins were chop marked by Chinese & other South-East Asian merchants, but the ones that were most prized were the pillar dollars. They had an average weight of 27.07 gm, & a fineness of .917. The later Carolus issues that began in 1791 had the same weight but the fineness was reduced to .896. The Chinese merchants were well aware of this difference & paid a higher premium for the older coins 😉.

For comparison an 8 real of the same date, from the PCGS files, is pictured below.

Pictured below is a group of 3 chop marked coins I had auctioned by CNG in E-Auction 483, for $826. The 1867 Hong Kong trade dollar is a rare coin, & worth well over $500 with the chop marks 😮.

Website members are welcome to post any of there chop marked coins ☺️.

[CPK]

Congratulations on the win! It's a lovely historical piece. Those Chinese merchants really went to town on it. 🙂 

[robinjojo]

Nice examples!  Here's a "chop mark special" that I've posted before.  You'd think that one or two would be enough validation, but in this case everyone in the neighborhood seems to have contributed.

Mexico, 8 Reales, 1744 MF, Philip V.  Heavy chop marks and test cuts.

26.4 grams 

 

Merchant and banker chop marks seem to be a lot scarcer on the older hammer struck coins.  The 8 reales below has a small chop mark on the reverse, in the upper left quadrant of the cross.

Potosi, 8 reales, Philip IV, (162)9, assayer T.

Paoletti 182; KM 19.a.

26.77 grams

Edited January 2 by robinjojo

[Al Kowsky]

4 hours ago, robinjojo said:

Nice examples!  Here's a "chop mark special" that I've posted before.  You'd think that one or two would be enough validation, but in this case everyone in the neighborhood seems to have contributed.

Mexico, 8 Reales, 1744 MF, Philip V.  Heavy chop marks and test cuts.

26.4 grams 

 

Merchant and banker chop marks seem to be a lot scarcer on the older hammer struck coins.  The 8 reales below has a small chop mark on the reverse, in the upper left quadrant of the cross.

Potosi, 8 reales, Philip IV, (162)9, assayer T.

Paoletti 182; KM 19.a.

26.77 grams

robinjojo, Thanks for posting these two gems 🤩! You're right about the silver cobs being much scarcer than the machine struck coins, since the majority of these coins were melted down, they were also the very first coins to be chopped by Asian merchants 😉. The "swastika" chop is an ancient Buddhist symbol, giving this coin special interest ☺️. It's hard to understand why your pillar dollar has so many test cuts 😕. One or more merchants may have been contemplating breaking the coin into fractional pieces 🤔.

[Marsyas Mike]

A great-looking chopped 8 reales, @Al Kowsky.  For years I collected chopped coins with real enthusiasm, and although I've been sidetracked by ancients, I do seek them out sometimes. 

As for the early pillar type, they are mostly out of my price range, but last year my local coin dealer - who was going out of business (I'm still mourning) had one in a cigar box full of odds and ends.  It was in a dirty flip with FAKE / Light Weight should be 27 grams written in red ink across it.  The weight was 26.17 grams and I told the dealer that this didn't look fake; she put it on the metal-analysis machine which showed it around 90% silver.  Weight is a bit light, but it seemed reasonable for wear and chopmarks/gouges.  The dealer gave me a "favorite customer" discount, which is really cheap for one of these.   

Just last week I got a Japanese yen that is chopped so much it is dished:

 

So yep, a few chopped crowns from time to time, if the price is right. 

[Al Kowsky]

On 1/11/2025 at 10:45 AM, Marsyas Mike said:

A great-looking chopped 8 reales, @Al Kowsky.  For years I collected chopped coins with real enthusiasm, and although I've been sidetracked by ancients, I do seek them out sometimes. 

As for the early pillar type, they are mostly out of my price range, but last year my local coin dealer - who was going out of business (I'm still mourning) had one in a cigar box full of odds and ends.  It was in a dirty flip with FAKE / Light Weight should be 27 grams written in red ink across it.  The weight was 26.17 grams and I told the dealer that this didn't look fake; she put it on the metal-analysis machine which showed it around 90% silver.  Weight is a bit light, but it seemed reasonable for wear and chopmarks/gouges.  The dealer gave me a "favorite customer" discount, which is really cheap for one of these.   

Just last week I got a Japanese yen that is chopped so much it is dished:

 

So yep, a few chopped crowns from time to time, if the price is right. 

Those are gems, thanks for posting 🤩! I agree, the pillar dollar is genuine 😉. The very small chops are not Chinese, but from other countries in Southeast Asia, but there are a couple of large chops on the obverse that are Chinese.

Edited Tuesday at 10:34 PM by Al Kowsky