Philip II, of the House of Habsburg, is considered one of the greatest rulers in Spanish history for his leadership in global exploration and colonial expansion across the Atlantic and Pacific. He extended his empire across multiple continents, creating one of the largest empires ever known and redrawing the political map of the world.
With the discovery of untold riches extracted from the Americas, the Spanish and their powerful fleets of galleons became the primary suppliers of gold and silver coins throughout the world. During this age of adventure, it was inevitable that large amounts of Spanish treasure would be lost on land or at sea due to pirates, storms, and other unforeseen misfortunes.
The real was a monetary unit used in Spain and its colonies for several centuries. When new silver deposits were discovered in the colonial territories, an urgent need arose to export it to Spain as quickly as possible. To this end, beginning during the reign of Philip II, mints began producing irregular coins calledmacuquinas(cobs).
A silver bar was simply cut into pieces of the appropriate weight. The goal of these pieces, although rudimentary, was to have a precise weight and be easily transportable. Once in Spain, the macuquinas were melted down to make jewelry, coins, ingots, and other silver objects. Each coin has a unique shape and represents a unique piece of history.
