This is a genuine Spanish silver coin minted in Mexico City during the rule of King Philip IV. The obverse of a cob displays the crowned Hapsburg shield with the mintmark and assayer initial to the left and the denomination to the right of the shield. The legend, although frequently missing from the planchet, is some variation of the name of the king with DEI GRATIA (By the Grace of God). The reverse displays the arms of Castile and Leon within a quatrefoil design. A Jerusalem cross with a ball at each extremity denotes the Mexico mint.
Philip IV was king of Spain and Portugal. He was the eldest son of Philip III and his wife Margaret of Austria. His only surviving son, Charles II of Spain, became his successor in 1661. His reign was characterized by political and military decay stemming from a hopeless struggle with the Netherlands. He is remembered for his patronage of arts and his rule over Spain during the Thirty Years’ War. He was nicknamed the “Planet King” by his contemporaries, and much of the art and display at his court has been interpreted in the context of his need to project power and authority over both Spaniards and foreigners alike.
The real was a unit of currency in Spain and its colonies for several centuries. When additional silver deposits were discovered in the colonial territories there was a pressing demand to export it to Spain as quickly as possible. To do this, starting in the reign of Philip II, the mints produced irregular coinage called cobs. A bar of silver was simply cut into chunks of the appropriate weight. The intention in minting these crude but accurately weighed cobs was to produce an easily portable product that could be sent to Spain. In Spain, the cobs would be melted down to produce silver jewelry, coins, bars and other items. Each coin has a unique shape and is a one-of-a-kind piece of history.
