Gilt-bronze and Silver Coins from Various Origins

Four gilt-bronze and silver coinages of various origins Han Dynasty, Sasanian Empire, and Spain, 16th to 18th century 2.8 cm diam., 2.9 cm wide, 4.1 cm wide, and 4.5 cm wide, the Spanish cobs 26g each (4). Provenance: Hsiao Chung Lung (1947-2008), Melbourne. Bonhams, 7 Dec 2022, Sydney, lot 60. As additional silver deposits were discovered in the colonial territories there was a pressing demand to export it to Spain as quickly as possible. To do this, starting in the reign of Philip II, the mints produced irregular coinage called cobs. A bar of silver was simply cut into chunks of the appropriate weight. These small sliver clumps were then treated as if they were finished planchets and were hammer struck between crude dies. The Sasanian Empire, due to its strategic location in the network of the silk roads, it occupied a crucial position in the trade of Eurasia continent. Its currency was legal tender throughout the continent, and as a result the Sassanian silver coins were found in numerous tombs and burial sites in modern-day China.