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Hi Jacee --
I am impressed you were able to find info on your cob coin: Bolivia 8 reales 1684. Such info is not easy to find.
Rather than Bolivia, I think your cob coin comes from Lima, Peru. The "L" for "Lima" appears in the upper left on the pillar and waves side (to the left of the "8" for "8 reales") and also to the left on the Jerusalem cross side.
As you say, 8 reales coins are supposed to be made of silver. There are also 8 escudo coins that are made of gold, and some of them have the pillar and waves design and come from Lima, but, I think, not as early as 1684. The 8 escudos in my first picture is dated 1750.
You might have a Lima 8 reales which has been gold plated. My second picture shows a genuine Lima 8 reales dated 1684, and it looks an awful lot like your coin.
The coin in my first picture (gold) sold for $5500 US dollars. The coin in my second picture (silver) sold for $600.
Now, the real problem is the weight of your coin. Your picture says your coin weighs 13 grams. Genuine 8 reales and genuine 8 escudos weigh about 27 grams. This indicates that your coin is a fake. Not good.
Please continue your research. Here are two suggestions:
First, read up on Spanish colonial coins at this link:
https://coinquest.com/cgi-bin/cq/coins.pl?action=spanish-colonials
Second, consider contacting Daniel Sedwick, the de-facto worldwide expert on Spanish colonials. His web site is here:
Mr. Sedwick will be able to clear up the real/fake question immediately.
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Paul Richards
thank you so much!
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This coin is NOT from Bolivia, is from Lima, Peru. The difference between Lima and Bolivia is that the waves under the 84 are going down, the Bolivia coin the waves are inverted . So if is a real Lima gold coin, the value of this coin is a little higher than any other place. 1684 Lima 8 Reales assayer: V {Pedro de Villar} weight should be 27.47 grams or less if weights more than 27 grams is probably a fake coin!!!
