I'm looking at this one that's for sale and I can't figure out how it's a real thing. I can't find a countermarked Phillipines coin in the catalogs later than 1842 or so. The countermark looks real enough and the coin looks real enough, but they're just not a good match.
So, it's very simple. The decree authorizing the countermarking of coins for circulation in the Philippines, first under Ferdinand VII (F.7.º) and then Isabel II (Y.II.) was repealed in 1837, so any of these two countermarks on coins dated later than 1837 can only be fake. The coin may or may not be fake.
I used Mena Crisologo, "Countermarked Coins in the Philippines", The Numismatist, July 1964 (reprinted in Greg Brunk, World Countermarks on Medieval and Modern Coins, Quarterman Press 1976). This article show examples of fakes of both countermarks, including "Y.II." on 1840 and 1880 Mexican 8 reales pieces.
Addendum: I've seen 5 or 6 of these Y.II. countermarks on eBay in the past two years. Without knowing all the details I now know, I would say that they all seemed to be fake except one. I didn't pay attention to the date of the coins themselves as I was not looking into buying them.
Thanks very much. I've bought a lot of coins from this dealer so I was surprised to see what seemed like a fake. Appreciate your research to help me out.
Status changed to Solved(chrismck, 12 Aug 2020, 18:08)
May be you should let him know (with a link to this thread). If he is an honest dealer, he will be happy to know about this and will withdraw the coin if he wants to maintain his good reputation with his customers.
It may also be an opportunity for him to contact the person who passed this on to him...
