4 Real

1732, Mexico, Philip V. Silver 4 Reales Cob Coin with Date! Shipwreck Salvage?

Assayer: F
Mint Place: Mexico (oM)
Reference: S-M26, KM-40a.
Ruler: Philip V (Felipe V) of Spain.
Denomination: Cob of 4 Reales (Half Piece of Eight)
Mint Year: 1732 (the last two digits clearly recognizable!)
Condition: Typical dark oxidation spots and corrosion damage of a VG-F shipwreck coin (possibly from the 1733 Fleet, Florida Keys), however no paperwork available!
Diameter: 26mm
Weight: 12.04gm
Material: Silver

Obverse: Cross of Jerusalem with lions and castles in quarters. All within tressure.

Reverse: Coat of Arms of the spanish line of the House Habsburg. Mint initials (oM) in left inner field. The last two digits of the date [17]32 recognizable from 9-10 o'clock.

The first coinage of the New World and what comes to mind when we think of Pirate Treasure are pieces of eight. These first coins, often called cob coins, were made from roughly cut planchets (blanks) by striking them with hand dies. The word Cobb comes from a simplification of the Spanish phrase, Cabo de Barra, which translates as, from a bar. After the coins are struck, they are weighed by an assayer who cuts off any excess Silver which is why most coins have some of the impression cut away. Due to this method of manufacturer no two coins are alike and many are collected for their unique shapes alone. The Cobb coin, like anything that is no longer available is becoming very scarce and hence more valuable. The few remaining Coins are the last vintage of the glory days of pirates and Treasure hunting and are fast disappearing into private hands.

Philip V of Spain (Versailles (France), 19 December 1683 - La Granja (Spain), 9 July 1746 ), born Philippe de France, fils de France and duc d'Anjou, was king of Spain from 1700 to 1724 and 1724 to 1746, the first of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain.

Philip was the second son of Louis, le Grand Dauphin and Maria Anna of Bavaria, known as Dauphine Victoire. He was a younger brother of Louis, duc de Bourgogne and an uncle of Louis XV of France.

His paternal grandparents were Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and Adelaide Henriette of Savoy, the daughter of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy.

Philip helped his Bourbon relatives to make territorial gains in the War of the Polish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession by reconquering Naples and Sicily from Austria and Oran from the Ottomans. Finally, at the end of his reign Spanish forces also successfully defended their American territories from a large British invasion during the War of Jenkins' Ear.

During his reign, Spain began to recover from the stagnation it had suffered during the twilight of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty. Ferdinand VI of Spain, his son by his first queen Maria Luisa of Savoy, succeeded him.

Philip was afflicted by fits of manic depression and increasingly fell victim to a deep melancholia. His second wife, Elizabeth Farnese, completely dominated her passive husband. She bore him further sons, including another successor, Charles III of Spain. He was later helped with his affliction by the castrato singer Carlo Broschi, famously known as Farinelli, who, for twenty years, sang the same four arias each night to the king before he went to sleep.

Philip died on 9 July 1746 and was buried in his favorite Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.