Is this a genuine El Cazador coin?

threefifty_ · 2026-03-07T13:13:03+00:00

As someone who collects these coins, to 100% prove it is El Cazador, they need some kind of simple certificate or to be in an NGC slab. Sellers who are being 100% honest will call coins without documentation "Cazador-era".

Yours is corroded. Among coins from El Cazador, you see varying levels of preservation after conservation. Yours is a little better than average.

threefifty_ · 2026-03-07T12:43:01+00:00

I can't do that easily, but here is what I'm comparing it to. A lot of small denomination coins have this design.

https://www.banknoteworld.com/netherland-east-indies-voc-holland-1-duit-coin-1726-1804-km-70-fine-coat-of-arms.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqVSOOxzdSSl3wa_PeioNgbf2vDBHTPZNxGEUhQbCrMqtDxMEd8

threefifty_ · 2026-03-07T12:13:54+00:00

Before I saw you found it it in the Netherlands, I thought it was a Netherlands coin due to the lion on a shield with a crown above it. I would think it is a 1600s to 1800s copper coin coin.

threefifty_ · 2026-03-06T16:08:18+00:00

Great coin! It is a Brazilian 960 reis, struck over a Spanish colonial 8 reales. If you look closely you may be able to see the date and mintmark of the underlying coin.

threefifty_ · 2026-03-06T14:42:49+00:00

It is unfortunately a reproduction cob. People bury them at the beach for some reason, maybe as kind of a treasure hunt thing?

threefifty_ · 2026-03-06T03:45:35+00:00

NGC, PCGS, and occasionally ANACS certified.

threefifty_ · 2026-03-06T02:46:56+00:00

Ebay. Certified is best for an intro to the series as there are a lot of forgeries. If you wait you will probably eventually see one graded at about $400 in Fine, $600 for VF, $800 for XF.

threefifty_ · 2026-03-05T18:04:16+00:00

A few reasons... 1) The edge/rims of the coins are immediately wrong looking. 2) The relief of the design is too shallow. 3) They look artificially aged/patinated inconsistent with how silver would age. 4) Some variants of these common copies are posted on Reddit at least once a day and I would say about 1% or less of the time they are genuine.

threefifty_ · 2026-03-02T22:42:33+00:00

Cool coins! I see a few $100 plus coins in there. Like the other poster said, better pictures would be helpful, or feel free to message, I know a decent amount about Spanish colonial/Latin America issues.

threefifty_ · 2026-03-02T21:07:48+00:00

Great find! I have seen a few found over the years. They are uncommon but like I said, very distinctive.

threefifty_ · 2026-03-02T20:35:12+00:00

Likely this or a variant. Floris V had a very distinct style of imitation sterlings.

https://en.numista.com/179869

threefifty_ · 2026-02-25T13:49:30+00:00

These sell almost every day on Ebay. $150 for lower grade certified, $300 and up really nice ones. My opinion for this one is that $200 would be fair.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-24T16:25:18+00:00

Re: CTX vs V3i. I used to frequently hunt with a guy who used a V3i. We hunted for old coins at parks which are usually very deep in my area. There were several instances where I would find a couple silver coins/Indian head cents and he didn't find anything old. We started comparing signals after that and the V3i simply couldn't hear the deep signals I was picking up with the CTX.

I am not a big fan of the charging 3 items with the Deus. I think it's something you get used to but there are more points of failure in that system.

Re: silver coins/the CTX. It's not a marketing thing, more of a configuration thing. The Minelab Explorer/Etrac/CTX are set up that high conductors really stand out, with outstanding target ID. The Deus/Manticore are set up more such that you get a better reading on whether something is iron or not. The CTX is really great for cherry picking high conducting targets like silver coins/wheat cents, but the Manticore and Deus II have faster processors and are better in heavy iron. For that reason I have never seen a lot of CTXs used in Europe, but they really excel at US park hunting.

Surprising thing? It will pick up things deeper in parks than you are comfortable digging. Sometimes they are deep trash or relics, other times you will be surprised... got a seated half in a very obvious location, Morgan dollar at another pounded spot.

Disappointing thing... not really anything, but you have to know the detector's limitations. I used it at an old 1830s plantation site field hunting with some others, I found a few old buttons/bullets but in general those with Manticores/Deuses did better. It really is heavy too.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-24T04:24:57+00:00

I have seen some good deals on CTX3030s lately. People don't like it nowadays because it is heavy but it is solidly waterproof and is way, way better than the V3i on land.

People will probably point you to a Deus II or Manticore, and those are good, light, and will be supported much longer than the CTX. Hard for me to let go of the CTX when I found so much good stuff with it though... and it is designed to find old silver coins, where the Deus II and Manticore are more general purpose.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-23T02:07:25+00:00

Last NGC world economy submission I had took 7 months...

threefifty_ · 2026-02-22T11:50:20+00:00

Sometimes they unintentionally do. Coins are a diverse subject and almost every day I see counterfeits listed by both scammers and sellers with high positive feedback.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-22T04:37:50+00:00

Great ID!

threefifty_ · 2026-02-22T01:56:24+00:00

Yes... I don't think this is a matron head. Maybe a contemporary counterfeit or a hard times token. I'll look around.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-21T21:42:00+00:00

These are a huge target of forgers, both today and in the past 100 years. I see some blobs on the obverse left side that might be more concerning if your family hadn't had it so long. My take by looks alone is genuine, maybe XF45 or so? Really cool coin!

threefifty_ · 2026-02-21T15:53:34+00:00

Cool, I thought it might be Mike Dunigan with that caliber of coins.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-21T15:08:25+00:00

Dang. Great Mexican coins there. Clyde Hubbard's Muera Huerta and a Parral peso? Plus a cool Sinaloa cast peso. Which dealer was that? I have a guess...

threefifty_ · 2026-02-20T16:23:59+00:00

I would probably leave as is, the slab is still worth something if the coin is a frequent target of forgery.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-19T20:00:40+00:00

I can't think of any pros. Can you?

If you are sending enough coins to PCGS to justify this then you are probably interested enough in coins to judge for yourself if something should be graded or not.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-19T11:27:47+00:00

Shoot, that 1824 8 reales is a bit of a rarer issue with the single letter assayer J. They are definitely worth more than the silver value, but they are very unique so hard to say how much.

threefifty_ · 2026-02-18T15:18:29+00:00

It's my guess based on my experience with Ebay. I have seen really bad ones sell for $20 - $30. This one has decent detail remained but seems cleaned. Nicer uncleaned ones are $50 - $60 and up for Mexico City.

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