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This seemingly innocuous little half real is an extremely rare coin that could change some ideas about the coinage of Mexico City during the first years of the reign of Charles IIII. This is a 1791 over 1790 half real minted at Mexico City, with a very clear 1 punched over the 0 in the date. Currently, only the 8 reales is known to have been minted in Mexico City in 1791, with no minor pieces being coined. It is very possible that during the transition, no minor dies were created using the bust of Charles IIII. In the case of this piece, it is possible mint officials punched a 1 over the previous digit, a 0 in this case, and coined some trial pieces, deciding that the final result was not adequate; the 1 is “lost” under the 0. An extremely rare “trial” strike; it would be interesting to know if a similar over-punch were attempted on any other denominations.
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