Identification for three cobs, please

[DimeIV]

Hi--

An elderly friend from Honduras found these cobs when he was a lad and recently gave them to me.

From what little I know, the two U.S. quarter-size cobs are 2 reales (there's a "2" on both), but I don't know if the U.S. dime-size cob is a 1 real or 1/2 real.

From what I can tell of the dates, they are (from top to bottom): 1725, 1709, and ?97.

I suspect the two 2-reales cobs are from Lima--there's an "L" to the left of the cross on both (although one is a bit obliterated by the hole); plus the "waves" under each cob's date goes down, which--right or wrong--I was able to put together from bits and pieces of "crash-course" research I've done online within the past two or three hours.

Details of the top 2-reales cob: On the "pillar and waves" side, details pretty worn or obscured by the hole (bottom left) and the jagged "cut" (upper left). Apart from the "2" denomination, the "(PL)VS VLT(RA)" in the middle triptych, and the (1)725 date, I can't quite make out any pertinent markings (assayer, etc.). In the upper right, it looks like it could be an "A", "P", or "R"; I'm just not sure. And on the cross side--well, I just see a cross, worn lions and castles(?) in the quadrants, and a bit of an "L" partly obliterated by the hole.

Details of the middle 2-reales cob: On the "pillar and waves" side, I can make out the "2" denomination, "(PL)VS VLTR(A)" in the middle triptych, and the date, (1)709. The mark in the upper right could be an "A", "R" or "H". The mark in the lower left--I can't really make it out.

Details of the bottom, small cob: On the "pillars and waves" side, I can't really make anything out, except (P)LVS VL(TRA) and "97" across the middle triptych; the denomination has been obliterated by the hole. In the upper right, it looks like an "H" or crude "A" or "R". I can't make out the marks on the lower left and lower right.

Thanks, fellows--I appreciate your help.

[stevemc]

Nice! Worn, but very readable. Look to all be Potosi cross. At least South American. And you got all the other parts, as far as I can see. The small one might be a 1.

[Mackaydon]

27.468 grams would be the standard weight for an 8-reales cob coin of these vintages.
This benchmark will then allow you to determine the denomination of your coins .
The "97" date refers to 1697.
Don....

[realeswatcher]

Good to see Google is your friend :->. Your attributions are quite accurate, with the small exception that your second piece is "1705", not "1709" (the weird old Spanish-style 5)...

1) Lima 1725 2 Reales, assayer is "M" (which should be clear on the coin knowing that). Easily the most important piece of the three, even with the hole and the hunk missing... 1725 was minted with the name of the new king, Luis I, who died after only 6 months, whereupon his father Philip V, who had abdicated in his favor, reclaimed the throne. Luis's coronation and then death happened in 1724, but the mint adjustments lagged a bit in those days, understandably. Anyway, Luis pieces are desirable b/c:
-- they're relatively scarce as a monarch type coin, since he was King for such a short time and only appeared on coins for 1-3 dates, depending on the specific mint
-- the mintage of the Luis dates appears to have been somewhat low compared to normal years.

The Krause world coin catalog actually shows this date/denomination as "Rare" and doesn't price it. With a quick check, I only find one up for auction anytime recently; it started at 10 Euros, but doesn't show what the strike price was.

2) Lima 1705 2R, "H" assayer. A common date for the series, pretty worn, but there are worse out there. Good, honest wear... plus decent shape and centering of detail.

3) Lima 1697 1 Real, again assayer "H". The denomination is definitely a 1R size-wise, plus you can see the base of "I" above the cross, and "I" faintly between the pillars (FYI, it couldn't be a half-real, which featured the king's monogram rather than the pillars). Definitely Lima based on the assayer H, plus some design features. Common date, this one's a bit worse off with the crude hole and being very worn (and 1Rs are simply more common than 2Rs).

All in all, a nice gift, esp. the 1725 2R, which makes the batch.

[divewrecks]

Realeswatcher hit everything right on the money as usual. Good job with the evaluation....

Stan