Why does the coin looks different from the original 1715 Spanish treasure cob coin?
April 29, 2001 From what I understand, the reason why the Parker Pen Company got involved with this silver treasure was because Ken Parker was an investor in Mel Fisher’s salvage efforts. When a portion of that treasure was recovered in the early 1960s, the silver coins were of such poor quality that its value to collects was very low. The coins were not really recognizable as cob (abbreviation for “cabo de barra” which literally means “slice of the bar”) coins since the strike impression had degraded beyond recognition. Leave it to Ken Parker to cook up how to make up for its lost historical value as a coin! In what we now see as a marketing coup, Ken Parker took his investment in the poor quality silver and used it as the base material for the special edition Parker 75. The FP sold for three times the normal price! As far as the cob coin is concerned, Parker commissioned another company to use the remain silver to make into the sterling silver coins. I am not sure if the original pat
