PERU. Falsa Época. Quasi-Modern Concoction Counterfeit 8 Escudos, 1749-L R. Ferdinand VI. EXTREMELY FINE DETAILS.26.95 gms. Onza-Unlisted. Likely a quasi-modern concoction, this piece was produced in virtually full weight with a purity that comes in at right around 90%. Considering that a contemporary counterfeits main objective was to deceive through passing less gold at a higher value, manufacturing something that is nearly identical in weight and purity doesnt make a ton of sense, and suggests later manufacture. That said, this piece still retains a significant amount of charm. The designs are not a perfect copy of the issue, but are crude and stylistically distinct. Some evidence of cleaning and discreet evidence of tooling appears in the recesses, but this could have very easily been added by the manufacturer to help provide the appearance of past circulation. All considered, a "neat" item that would add character to an advanced collection of cobs, and does add to the mosaic of this fascinating group.From the John Kraljevich Collection of Contemporary Circulating Forgeries.
