2 Reales Ferdinand VI Potosi Cob, Scarce To Rare Strike Features / 3 Visible Dates

... Dang!...I lost out on the bid ( ebay 12 August 2024) for this cob, but thought I'd post pictures anyway.
...This cob was struck in Potosi (Bolivia), during the later decades of cob production (ending in 1773). By 1748, these crude coins were being quickly 'knocked out', with little attention to visible details making it to the coin's surface ... weight & purity being of prime importance ( 6.6g, .917 silver for this issue...).
... This example has a strong strike, with many desirable features present: full cross, decent pillars & waves, full denomination mark '2', 3 mint marks 'P', 2 assayer initials (Luis de Quintanilla, 'q' mark), & most impressively, 3 full dates (1)748.
... More common is the date below the cross (obverse), and the date above the waves (reverse, pillars side). But the date on the edge, pillars side (reverse) rarely made it on the chunky flans used to produce these cobs. Although only the bottom halves of the 7, 4, & 8 are visible, that counts as a full date .
... NGC grades this coin 'VF30', I would agree, based solely on feature detail. But that grade doesn't tell the "whole story" of the value of this coin, as the other attributes I have listed add greatly to it's value.
... Also missing in NGC's description is the weight, & weight is of importance. Full weight cobs command a premium to underweight examples. I would wager that this cob is close to full ...
... as Dan Sedwick used to advertise his nicer specimens: a true "Cob for the Connoisseur" ...