Description
Pillars and Waves Cob
Obverse: The left top: L for Lima Peru Mint.
The middle top: 8 is the value of the coin (8 escudos).
Top Right: H is the assayer who purchased the right from Spain to run the mint. His stamp was an assurance of the correct weight and purity of the gold content of the coins minted. The office of the assayer was purchasable, transferable, and leasable. It was very competitive like the sale of a seat on the NY Stock Exchange.
Assayer H was Francisco Hurtado.
The most interesting part of the coin is the message in the middle three spaces, letters (P, V, A) an abbreviation for the Latin phrase “Plus ultra” and was the national motto of Spain. Associated with the Pillars of Hercules near the Straits of Gibraltar. In mythology, it marked the edge of the then known world, and the pillars bore the warning that there was nothing further beyond. This was a statement from Spain that they went beyond the Straits of Gibraltar and were rewarded with the riches of the new world.
Crowned pillars on the coin represent the Pillars of Hercules and the waves at the bottom of the sea between them.
Bottom three spaces: 710 is the date 1710.
Legend around coin: ET YNDIARUM REX ANO 1710. = “and of the Indies King in the year 1710.”
Latin INDIARVM with the I rendered as a Y sometimes = of the Indies
REX = King
ANO = Latin for year
Reverse:
The cross is not the unbalanced crucifix-type cross but an asymmetrical one that symbolizes the union of Church and state. When the perpendicular bar was added to each extremity, it was called the cross of Jerusalem.
In the four quadrants of the cross are two lions and two castles, representing the merger of the two medieval kingdoms of Leon and Castilla, later known as Spain.
Legend around coin: PHILLIPPVS V (King Philip V), D.G. (Abbreviation for the “Grace of God”), HISPANIA (abbreviation for Spain ).
The original coin that the impressions for this replica were taken from was salvaged from the 1715 Lost Spanish Treasure Fleet off the coast of Florida.
Diameter: 31 mm, 1 1.4 inches
24k gold plated
Made in the USA
Packaged in a coin collecting flip with the description of the coin printed on the flip insert.
Austin Richards (verified owner) –
I love my replica cob. It’s very interesting to handle it and imagine finding a whole pile of them on the sea bottom. I am very satisfied with my purchase, and I may buy a batch of them to give away as presents. Thanks for the description of the coin; I suggest also adding information about what the original weight and purity of the coin would be, and how much that would vary from example to example.