Spanish Cob - 2 Reales - Dated 1721 - Assayer "J" (1705-1723)
$1,575
Denomination: 2 Reales
Mint: Mexico City
Assayer: "J" Jose Eustaquio de Leon (Assayer for 1715 Fleet coins)
Reign: King Philip V
Weight: 6.40 grams
Date: 1721
Coin Description: Non-Shipwreck. Rare date with reportedly no more than three examples known. Very rare. Fine with bold partial shield and cross, final two digits of date visible.
Mount: 14K Flatwire
History: Shortly after Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, the use of silver coins became widely utilized throughout the Spanish colonies. La Casa de Moneda de Mexico in Mexico City is the oldest of the New World Mints. Prior to the opening of the New World Mints in 1535 under the reign of Charles and Johanna, Spanish coins were minted in the Old World Mints and shipped to the colonies of The Americas. Mexico City was the second largest producer of these silver coins, behind the Bolivian mint at Potosi. It was also the first New World Mint to adopt the Screw Press as a means to mass produce silver coins. The Screw Press guaranteed a near-perfect round coin, with a milled edge to prevent anyone from tampering with the silver. This also reduced the need to weigh each coin as it was produced, allowing a faster production rate from the Mint to shipment to Spain. These types of coins were widel preferable to do business and pay taxes with because they possessed a full border, making them harder to counterfeit and shave pieces off, which was increasingly becoming problematic in the Empire.
cob-1752