Ancient CoinsAcquired May 4, 2021

Spanish Shipwreck Cob (1636 CE)

SpainShipwreckColonial

Coin specifications

Colonial

Crudely struck colonial silver cut to weight for treasure fleet shipment; cobs funded empire and global trade during the Thirty Years' War era.

SpainAmericas

Pending further identification and background.

Current guess: Maravedí 1636 countermark

Major events happening around the time this piece was struck.

1636 CE

Spanish silver fleet system
1566 CE – 1790 CE
Spain organized annual treasure fleets to carry New World silver to Europe. Cob coinage from colonial mints fed global trade and empire.
Wikipedia
Thirty Years' War
1618 CE – 1648 CE
A continent-wide conflict reshaped European power while Spanish American silver continued to fund Habsburg ambitions.
Wikipedia
Potosí silver boom
1572 CE – 1650 CE
Silver from Potosí in Bolivia flooded global markets. Crudely struck cobs were cut to weight and shipped on treasure fleets to Spain and beyond.
Wikipedia