8 Reales, also known as cob coin, piece of eight or pirate money
€1,300
available
Object number
AR3169M56
| Value: |
8 Reales (piece of eight)
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| Material: |
Silver
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| Details: |
Diameter: 38 mm, weight: 28.40 g. Potosi, Bolivia, 1687 |
| Obverse: |
Legend around field segmented by two vertical columns, crown on top. In the top center value "8", in the bottom year (16)87.
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| Reverse: |
Cross with four symbols (2x castle, 2x lion). Cartouche outside, P to the left, VR in ligature to the right.
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| Condition |
Very fine, nice patina. Rare condition for a cob coin
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| Cob coins: |
Coins of this type are referred to as "cob coins" in literature. Their production started in 1572, to export silver from the colonies to Spain. The main target was to control the weight of the exported silver, so to accelerate the process the silver bars were cut into pieces which should have the same weight and coined using the hammer strike method. If a coin resulted too heavy, it was simply cut to the right weight. Since the cob coins were melted once again after they had reached Spain, their appearance and quality of coinage had low priority only. However, they soon became the first global currency, known and accepted in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas as "peso de ocho reales" or "pieces of eight.
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| Literature: |
Gabriel Calbeto De Grau, Compendium VIII Reale, Compendio de las piezas de ocho reales (1970)
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| Reference: |
Aureo & Calicó, Numismatica Espanola (Barcelona 2019) Carlos II, 683.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired 2021 at a German auction house.
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| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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