Potosi Cob Coins, Potosi mint Cobs

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Spanish Colonial Coins and Artifacts
906-779-3794

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Spanish Cob Coins
Potosi Mint

Cob coins were minted at the Potosi mint from 1574 through 1773, when they were permanently replaced by the machine struck milled bust dollar in 1773. Interestingly, cobs continued to be struck at Potosi well after cob production ceased at the other colonial mints, and in fact, continued to be manufactured in parallel with the mints own machine struck milled pillar dollar between 1767 and 1770. The mint began operations striking the shield type cob variety, but the famous 1640's Potosi mint scandal lead to a switchover from the shield type to the pillars-and-waves type in 1652. Dates first appeared on Potosi cobs in 1617, but are seldom visible.

A Certificate of Authenticity will be supplied only on request.

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4 Reales

Item#: 8125
Denomination: 4 reales
Mint: Potosi
Assayer: L
Weight: 13.5 grams
Diameter: 1.40-1.45 inches

Price: $1295.00 SOLD

Shield type cob, Potosi mint, Philip II, assayer L, circa: 1576-1577 (prior to when coins received dates), graded very fine. One of the earliest issues from this mint, which began operations in 1574 (the 8 reales denomination was first struck in 1575) under the direction of Alonso de Rincon, the mints very first assayer. Early issue coins like this assayer L example, exhibited commas separating the words in the legends, and in some instances prior to 1577, spelled HISPANIARVM without an H as is the case with this coin. This beautiful, royal like, full weight piece is struck on a full diameter planchet and thus has nearly complete legends, a rare find on Potosi cobs. It's also struck with both sides in alignment (reversible). Rare issue, extremely high quality coins like this are an essential addition to any Potosi shield type cob collection.

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8 Reales

Item#: 99610
Denomination: 8 reales
Mint: Potosi
Assayer: B
Weight: 26.5 grams
Diameter: 1.55 inches

Price: $695.00 SOLD

Shield type cob, Potosi mint, Philip II, assayer B , circa: 1581-1586 (prior to when coins received dates), grade fine. An early 3rd period assayer B issue, the first issue to transition from commas to periods in the legend and to the descending style lion of Brabant. Well struck and nicely centered full cross with all lions and castles visible and of 3rd period B style. Nice shield side details, including a full shield , a partial crown, full mint and assayer marks P and B, denomination mark VIII, and ample legend. Struck with both sides in alignment (reversible). Potosi cobs of 3rd period B are scarce, with less than 20 or so known to exist, and this one is even more valuable since it is pedigreed to the Paul Karon collection, one of the finest collections of high quality cobs ever assembled.

Click on picture to enlarge 8 Reales	Item#: 5153 Denomination: 8 reales Mint: Potosi Assayer: P Weight: 27.1 grams Diameter: 1.4-1.5 inches Price: $395.00 SOLD
Shield type cob, Potosi mint, Philip IV, assayer P, circa: 1623-1624, grade fine. Nicely struck cross with transposed lions and castles; equally nice shield, both well centered and nicely toned. Coins from this time period are relatively rare, particularly in this condition. An excellent coin.

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8 Reales

Item#: 8048
Denomination: 8 reales
Mint: Potosi
Assayer: T
Weight: 26.9 grams
Diameter: 1.4-1.5 inches

Price: $595.00 SOLD

Shield type cob, Potosi mint, Philip IV, assayer T, dated 1630, grade choice fine. Nice full cross with all lions and castles visible through areas of flatness, and of particular importance, a nice bold date 1630 (at the 11:00 o'clock position). Excellent shield side details including a full shield with a bold mintmark P and assayer mark T (with x's above and below) at left and denomination mark 8 (with an x above and below) at right. Along with being completely reversible, this coin also displays an ample amount of legend along the edge, which is not commonly found on late period shield type cobs. An excellent coin and an essential addition to any Potosi shield type cob collection.

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8 Reales

Item#: 7211
Denomination: 8 reales
Mint: Potosi
Assayer: E
Weight: 26.9 grams
Diameter: 1.4-1.6 inches

Price: $495.00 BUY ITEM

Pillars and waves type cob, Charles II, assayer E, dated 1670, grade very fine. Nice full cross with crown above, bold mint and assayer marks P and E, a hint of the date 1670 below the cross, some areas of flatness. Equally nice pillars side with two bold mintmarks P, assayer mark E, denomination mark 8, and date 1670 (the bottoms of all 4 digits are visible in the legend). This coin is nicely toned and has great eye appeal.

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8 Reales

Item#: 5350
Denomination: 8 reales
Mint: Potosi
Assayer: VR
Weight: 28.0 grams
Diameter: 1.5 inches

Price: $695.00 BUY ITEM

Pillars and waves type cob, Charles II, assayer VR, dated 1688, nicely toned, uncleaned, graded very fine. Beautiful full cross with especially nice details on the lower quadrants lion and castle. Also visible on the cross side is a partial crown, partial kings name, bold denomination mark 8, bold assayer mark VR, and 88 of the date 1688. The pillars side is also excellent with one mint mark P, both assayer marks VR, denomination mark 8, and 88 of the date all clearly visible. This is a special coin in that it has an extraordinarily high weight of 28 grams, much heavier than the standard 27.4 grams.

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