2 Reales Cob

The 2 Reales Cob was typically struck from silver extracted from Mexican mines, then roughly cut and hammered into shape on irregular planchets that often looked more like nuggets than coins.

This made for a coin that varied wildly in weight and size, even from the same mint like Mexico City. Workers would snip pieces from silver bars and strike them quickly, prioritizing quantity over precision in the rush of colonial trade.

We don't know exact mintages for most years; records from that era are spotty at best. What survives shows these cobs circulated across the Spanish Empire, from Manila to Seville, serving as raw currency.

Sometimes, a cob's design was so faint that you'd squint to spot the Pillars of Hercules or the royal assayer's mark. No wonder forgers had a field day.