Description:
This is a genuine Spanish silver coin that was minted in the colonial South American mint of Potosi, Peru. In 1533, four decades after Columbus landed in the New World, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire in Peru. Soon after, high in the Andes Mountains at Potosi, the Spanish discovered the richest silver deposits in the world and in 1575, they opened the Potosi mint. To deliver this massive new-found wealth to the Crown, the Spanish shipped their treasure in fleets of mighty galleons and over the next two centuries, the Spanish became the premier supplier of silver and gold coins for the world. However, during this adventurous age, it was inevitable that large amounts of Spanish treasure would be lost on land and at sea due to pirates, storms and other unforeseen misfortunes.
This coin was minted during the reign of Charles III, who was the King of Spain from 1759 to 1788. Throughout this period, the Spanish had a great rivalry with Britain, which led Charles to support the Americans in the Revolutionary War. The obverse of this coin features a Jerusalem cross with castles and lions in the quarters and the reverse depicts the Pillars of Hercules with the date, mintmark and assayer. Spanish coins, known as "cobs", that circulated in this epic era were hand struck from dies and cut to weight. Minted in five denominations in silver, the largest was the 8 reales, famous in the colonies and among pirates as a “piece of eight.” Cob coinage with their unusual shapes are all unique and each is a one-of-a-kind piece of history.
