Turns out yesterday’s silver disk may be a 4 reale.  A 4 reale is a Spanish silver coin, probably minted in Mexico City, like most Spanish silver found in America.  If you think of “Pieces of Eight”, a 4 reale is half of that.  Pieces of Eight circulated widely in early America, and I’ve found 1/2 reales, 1 reale, and 2 reales.  (A 1 reale is one “piece of eight”.  The American phrase “2 bits” for a quarter dollar comes from this system, as sometimes they cut the 8 reale coins into 8 bits).

4 reales are incredibly rare.  They may be rarer than the namesake 8 reale, I dunno.

But, I can’t prove it is a 4 reale.  (I did upgrade it from a silver object to a silver coin, tho, so I get an extra silver on my stats :)).  The evidence that it may be a 4 reale comes from its diameter, consistent with a 4 reale, but not with an American half or silver dollar.  Moreover, the edging is consistent with a 4 reale, sort of a spaced reeding, as in this pic.

There is a thread about my coin on FMDF, which is rather interesting, and gave me the idea that it could be a reale (I thought it was a clock part or something).  The thread suggests giving it an acid bath to see if features will come out, as was done with another coin (the acid is a mixture of nitric and diluted HCl, which I just happen to have on hand, doesn’t everyone?).

It didn’t work.  Too bad.  In a way I am glad, as knowing you have a worthless rare find seems worse than thinking you have a clock part or something.

That said, I found something really rare, and really toasted today, that, unlike this, I think I can prove.  About to write it up.