Cobs

About Cobs

Crude hand-hammered coins produced in Spanish colonial mints from the 16th to 18th centuries. The word cob comes from cabo de barra meaning end of the bar. Silver was chopped from a cast bar, hammered flat, and stamped. Irregular shapes made them easy to clip and counterfeit. Despite their crudeness, cobs were trusted for their silver content. Shipwreck cobs from the 1715 and 1733 Spanish treasure fleets are highly prized.