8 Escudos - Felipe V Colonial Cob Coinage

Felipe V's accession triggered the War of the Spanish Succession almost immediately, and Lima's mint continued striking cob coinage throughout the conflict largely because Spanish imperial finances depended on it — bullion from the Viceroyalty of Peru was the structural backbone of Habsburg and then Bourbon war funding alike. The Lima mint had been producing gold cobs since the 1690s, and the transition to Bourbon rule changed the assayer marks and monograms on these pieces but nothing about the crude, functional production method.

Cobs of this type were weighed, not measured — a planchet was cut from a rolled bar until it hit the legal weight, then struck between dies with no concern for centering. Full strikes showing complete cross and shield are the exception across the entire series.