Auction Name: 2026 January 4 Spotlight: Mexico World Coins Showcase Auction

Lot Number: 21006

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/61584*21006

Philip V "Zoomorphic" Cob 4 Reales ND (1702-1715) VF (Holed), Mexico City mint, KM40. 12.12gm. 40mm. An iconic Zoomorphic Cob. Some zoomorphic Cobs were cut down post-mint, with the weight consisting of a good indicator of the origin for the animal-shaped Cobs. The present offering, even though holed and worn, presents a near-full weight, a good indicator that this somewhat angry bird was minted as such. The engraved eyes, eyebrows, beaks and tails make this a highly interesting study piece for this yet somewhat untangled numismatic field.

Zoomorphic Cobs are, alongside Royal Cobs and Heart-shaped Cobs, esoteric pieces created by mint workers for a number of reasons. The Royals, also known as "Galanos", were carefully made with prepared high-quality dies and flans, to be presented to the Spanish royalty and likely the King himself. Those special dies were sometimes used in Heart Cobs, celebrating Catholic events. More obscure and somewhat scarcer are the zoomorphic Cobs, since they were not officially produced by the mint (so do not necessarily come from Royal dies) and consist of odd, animal-like shaped pieces--often engraved--intended to be used as charms/pendants.

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