The Cap & Ray 8 Reales of Republic Mexico  

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Overview:

Mexican 8 Reales are a fascinating series for the collector and there are various ways to put together a very nice collection that you can be proud of.

-A Year Set consisting of 75 coins.  All are easily available except for the years 1823, 1865 and the RARE 1866.

-A Mint Type Set of the 14 different Mexican mints can be completed with relative ease and within the reach of almost everyone.  The challenges in this set will be the EoMo [Estado de Mexico],  GC [Guadalupe y Calvo] and Ce [Real de Catorce] mints.

-Other options include a Mint/Date set for one or several of the 14 Mints or a Mint/Assayer set.  Not as easy as you would believe.

 Before You Start:

Before beginning your journey into this exciting realm of coin collecting, you will need a few very important "Guide Books":

-A copy of the latest Krause "North American Coins & Prices" is essential. 

-If at all possible secure a copy of "A Guide Book of Mexican Coins 1822 to Date" by T.V. Buttrey & Clyde Hubbard.  The Hard cover 2nd edition and the soft cover 4th editions are excellent as they provide a wealth of background information on the various mints and mint marks as well as historical info.

-And finally the indispensible "Resplandores" by Mike Dunigan and J.B. Parker.  Every coin is pictured as well as many varieties but most important they rate the coins by availability and condition.

TIP:  Use catalogs as a guide ONLY.  Don't believe the prices.  Most collectable 8 reales sell for more than catalog.

Establish Collection Objectives:

1. Set reasonable goals for the condition and appearance of your collection.  A lustrous BU set is virtually impossible.
2. Realize that many 8's are RARE in XF or better and some are extremely RARE in BU, if they even exist.
3. Establish your spending limit and buy accordingly.  Don't get caught up in bidding wars.
4. Don't pass up a rare or high grade coin if it has chop marks, has been cleaned or is holed.  Many coins that came out of Mexico and the Orient before 1980 were cleaned.  Even BU's were cleaned to remove tone and dirt to"spruce" them up for the US market!
5. Use catalog values as a guide only.  They are a measure of relative scarcity but they are almost useless for current value.  Again, the only worthwhile guide for Rarity and Condition is "Resplandores".  A copy of this book is a MUST for the serious collector.

True Value vs. Catalog:

• The 1881/0 Cn JB 8 Reales catalogs at $30 for XF in the latest Krause.  PLEASE notice this is the overdate 1/0.  An example of this coin in VF/XF sold for $275 at the 2007 Mexico City Coin Show in 2007!
•  An 1869 Ga IC 8 Reales catalogs for $75 in the latest Krause.  An example of this coin in VG with chops sold for $185 at the same Mexico Coin show.  [Krause doesn't price this coin in VG].