I would like to know if anyone could tell me whether or not this looks to be an authentic Spanish 8 reale cob from the 1715 Silver Fleet wreckage.
I can't say with any degree of certainty but it looks like a modern cast fake to me, the kind often sold in tourist shops.
I have a acquaintance who wears a genuine cob as a necklace and yours does not look like his, although that is certainly not definitive. I would like to find one for my Colonial-to-Modern Type Set.
Google Sedwicks coins. Daniel Sedwick (that is the correct spelling) is probably the most prolific buyer and seller of these old cob coins. He routinely has cob coins for sale from very affordable to very expensive. You can spend hours perusing his site. And to the OP I would offer the same. I found an old cob coin on the Carolina coast after hurricane Hugo visited in 1989. A couple years ago I emailed photos to Sedwick and he gave me the history of the piece. He is a very friendly fellow.
I see he is located in Winter Park, FL, just north of Orlando and I am just south of Orlando. I may call him and make an appointment. And to the OP, (and so I'm not accused of hi-jacking your thread) you might want to visit the website - there's a lot of information there that might inform your question. https://www.sedwickcoins.com/silver_cobs_potosi.htm
It may be an authentic cob, I can't tell if it is 4 reales or an 8 reales the denomination markings aren't visible so weight would be needed. Since no date is visible it could be the 1715 fleet or any one of many other wrecks that preceded the milled coinage. (unless there is something visible that would narrow it down. If the engraver/coins initials were visible that would help but I don't think they are. There is something at the right side of the second image that looks like initials, but I believe that is the top of the coin and not where the initials would be located.)
