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Catalogue information
LastDodo number
6732305
Area
Coins
Title
Spain 8 maravedís (pirate cob) 1641-1655
Country
Face value
Year
1655
Variety / overstrike
Head of State
Type
Designer
Series
Theme
Material
Weight
7.3
Diameter
22
Thickness
Punch
Shape
Obverse
1655 XII ISP
Reverse
1641 8 VIII
Edge
Privy mark
Mint mark
Number produced
Krause and Mishler number
Catalogue number
Details
Obv; Leon
Rev; Castille
Coin "cobs" were made by a faster method, which by-passed rolling a bar into a sheet of a specific thickness that could then be cut into smooth round planchets for striking into coins. Bars were simply cut into chunks of the appropriate weight, which were treated as if they were finished planchets, and then hammer struck between crude dies.
In fact, the Spanish word "cabo" (from which the English "cob" is derived) refers to the end; in this instance, a clump clipped off the end of the bar.
The size, shape, and impression of such cobs was highly irregular but they were the proper weight, and if a cob was over-weight the minter simply clipped a piece off, further disfiguring the coin.
Many cobs were quite thick and disfigured with large cracks. Such clumps made poor planchets, so that frequently only a small portion of the image on the die was impressed on the coin.