No, it’s not a Spanish-American gold doubloon, though that would be nice. On a recent Internet shopping venture I located an exonumia classic that needed to be in my collection. To become a part of my collection, the key word for any item is “neat,” and this piece certainly makes the grade. The item in question is made of back-to-back Mexican 8 Reales coins, each lightly dished so as to form a pocket between the two coins. The obverse of the piece is an EF 1897-Zs (Zacatecas Mint) Cap and Rays, and the reverse is an EF example of the familiar eagle and snake motif of the era. What makes it so special is the tiny watch placed in the center between the two cupped coins, its face shining forth brightly from the center of the reverse coin; the dated coin is unaffected by the watch.
The watch is made by Alpina, and its crystal and face are intact and problem-free. The stem of the watch has, however, become loosened over the years and is no longer capable of setting the time or winding the watch. The time on this piece is permanently set at 4:20, no doubt a meaningful time to some. At least it’s accurate twice a day, more than can be said for many watches in use today. The high grade of the host coins leads me to believe it was made around the time of the 1897-dated coin. I was on the road when this piece arrived in my mailbox, and it made a great impression on me when I finally opened the package. I had no idea it was made of two eight reales pieces, as it was not mentioned in the buyer’s information. What a double treat!
For the record, my Exonumia Corner articles have received plenty of positive feed back from you, the readers, all of which is greatly appreciated. If you have an item you’d like to see featured, or even want to write a short exonumia blog and send along a picture of the item as well, we may be able to have it published for you, subject to our editing of course. Keep on reading!
