Set Description
This is a collection of coins recovered from the shipwreck site of sunkin treasure bearing ships.
Set Goals
The goal of this collection is to understand the maritime history of the time, by acquiring a coin from as many shipwrecks as possible and to learn the history of the ship, where it was bound and why it sunk.
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| Santiago, wrecked 1585. |
SPAIN - TO 1600
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8R (1556-98)S D S SEVILLE - SQUARE D PHILIP II
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NGC INELIGIBLE TYPE
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Note: COIN IS INELIGIBLE FOR ENCAPSULATION
DESCRIPTION:
This coin is an 8 Reales coin from the sunken Portuguese treasure ship Santiago and is dated from the reign of King Phillip II.
DATE: 1556-1598
RULER: Phillip II
ASSAYER: Unknown
WEIGHT:23.5g.
OBVERSE:
Broad and almost perfectly round flan with full cross and tressure as well as full shield and crown. Large Arabic "S" to the left of shield.
REVERSE:
Assayer Gothic "D" at the 4'oclock position outside the tressure around the cross.
THE 1585 SHIPWRECK OF THE SANTIAGO:
The coin shown above was recovered from the Santiago which sank on the Bassas da India atoll between Mozambique and Madagascar (East Africa) in 1585. This relatively obscure wreck sank on the reef at night due to pilot error, following which the captain and crew absconded with the one useable lifeboat, leaving some 400 or more passengers to perish on the wreck. The Santiago was found again and salvaged in the late 1970s by Ernest Erich Klaar and eventually yielded thousands of silver cobs (marketed in the 1980s) of both Spain and Spanish America (particularly the mints of Seville and Mexico).
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| Rill Cove, wrecked Ca. 1618. |
Spain 1556-1598
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0.9310 Fine Silver 4R (1556-98)G F SPAIN GRANADA CAYON-3730 RILL COVE
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NGC XF Details
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DISCRIPTION
Date: 1556-1598
RULER: Phillip II
ASSAYER: Unknown
WEIGHT:23.5g.
Recovered from an unknown shipwreck off the coast of Cornwall England in 1975.
A choice specimen. Gorgeous, bold, full detail all over. A perfect cross and shield beautifully centered, all nicely toned and with only minimal corrosion. Minted in Granada, Spain, Assayer "M". Well rounded flan with full cross and tressure as well as full shield and crown, showing exceptional detail all over. Large Arabic "G" to the left of shield, and roman numerals (IIII) to the right.
The coin is minimally corroded, has full features, and is beautifully toned. The condition of this coin is very rare for a Rill Cove coin because there were about 3,000 or so coins that were salvaged and eventually sold before the site off the English coast was declared "protected". In addition, the sheer metric tonnage of soil and sand that flows in and out of the Rill Cove area every day means that all salvaged coins were heavily marred and corroded, with many being completely unreadable.
THE SHIPWRECK
This unknown ship is known by two nicknames either the "Rill Cove Wreck" or the "Lizard Silver Wreck" pertaining to the location of the wreck off the coast of Cornwall England. Neither the name or the nationality of the ship is known and even the date of the sinking is not certain. All we do know is that records of it's local salvage began in 1618. After rediscovery of the wreck by Ken Simpson and Mike Hall in 1975, eventually some 3,000 coins were recovered and sold, all silver cobs, mostly Mexican but also some from Potosi and Spain. Most of the coins are thin from corrosion but with dark toning on fields that enhance details.
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| Sao Jose', wrecked 1622. |
Mexico
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REALES MEXICO 8 (1589-1617)MO F KM 43, Menzel 194 M06.003/05/2111.150
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NGC SHIPWRECK EFFECT
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Description:
This coin is an 8 Reales coin from the sunken treasure ship Sao Jose and is dated from the reign of King Phillip II.
DATE: 1589-1598
RULER: Phillip II
ASSAYER:F Francisco de Morales
OBVERSE:
Crowned arms. Mint mark and assayer's initial to the left, denomination to the right. Legend and date around crowned arms.
Legend: PHILLIPPVS . II . DEI . G .
Note: Legend not visible.
REVERSE:
Legend around cross in tressure, castles and lions in quarters.
Legend:
HISPANIARVM . ET . INDIARVM . REX
Note: Legend not visible.
1622 SHIPWRECK OF THE SAO JOSE':
Bound for Goa India, the Sao Jose' was the almiranta of a small fleet consisting of four ships that left Lisbon in 1622. The ship carried an impressive cargo--the legendary silver treasure of Philip III, King of Spain and Portugal for the Portuguese Empire and Francisco da Gama, great grandson of famed Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, to reign at his post as Viceroy of India. The shipment included nine chests filled with thousands of silver Reales coins produced in both the Old world and the New World mints of Mexico, Bolivia and Spain.
Setting out in haste, after learning of an impending British attack on the strategic island of Hormuz, the fleet was sailing up the Mozambique Channel when a combined fleet of Dutch and British ships of the East India Company attacked the Portuguese flotilla. The Sao Jose' was cut off from the rest of the fleet, surrounded by the enemy and attacked. Despite damage to her sails and spars, the Sao Jose' remained afloat. In a desperate attempt to escape, the ship ran into a shoal. The Sao Jose' met her demise grounded on a reef off the Mozambique coast, victim to a final assault by the Anglo-Dutch fleet. A reported 66,000 Spanish Reales were taken by the enemy, a small share of the total treasure aboard the ship, lost with some 300-400 passengers and crew as the vessel broke up and sank to the bottom of the Mozambique Channel.
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| Santa Margarita, wrecked 1622. |
BOLIVIA - COLONIAL
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8R (1598-1621) P PHILIP III SANTA MARGARITA
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NGC VF Details
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DESCRIPTION
Date: 1596-1621
RULER: Philip III
ASSAYER: Not Visible
WEIGHT: 23.2g.
Full cross (interesting lions) and shield, nicely toned, minimal corrosion but somewhat crude overall. The coinage of the period 1598-1621 is known for low quality strikings.
THE 1622 SHIPWRECK OF THE SPANISH GALLEON SANTA MARGARITA
On September 6, 1622, the heavily laden galleon of King Philip IV's Terra Firme Fleet, grounded and broke up in a raging hurricane near the Florida Keys. More than one hundred, twenty persons and her entire cargo of silver, gold and precious items were lost to the sea. It was sunk west of Key West, Florida from the same hurricane-stricken 1622 Fleet as the Atocha. The Santa Margarita sank on a reef within sight of the Atocha and was found in 1626 by Spanish salvagers, who only recovered roughly half it's treasure. The other half was found by Mel Fisher and company in 1980. Margarita's treasures were similar to those found on the Atocha, yet with fewer coins in comparatively worse condition overall.
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| Atocha, wrecked 1622. |
Bolivia
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8R (1613-17)P Q BOLIVIA Assayer Mark Rev. 9 Instead of Q, KM 10
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NGC VF Details
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DESCRIPTION
Date: 1613-1617
RULER: Philip III
ASSAYER: Q-Augustin de la Quadra
WEIGHT: 26.6g.
Assayer Quadra's coins have design variations in the rendition of the standard Q assayer's initial. This coin is Menzels Type IVb which has a "reverse 9" instead of a Q.
THE 1622 SHIPWRECK OF THE SPANISH GALLEON ATOCHA
Beginning in 1561, and lasting until 1748, the Spanish government sent two merchant convoys each year to the New World. They brought consumer goods and took home the wealth of the mines. One fleet to Vera Cruz in Mexico and the other to Portobello in Panama to unload European goods and fill their holds with gold, silver and gem stones. For the voyage back to Spain the two fleets reassembled in Havana before riding the Gulf Stream up the East Coast of Florida and across the Atlantic. These combined fleets were known as the Tierra Firme Fleet and were scheduled for departure from Cuba before the advent of the hurricane season in July.
Built in 1620 the Atocha was specifically designed as a guard galleon and was the "almiranta" of the fleet, assigned to cover the fleet's rear. Due to numerous delays, the 28 ships of the 1622 Tierra Firme Fleet finally left Havana harbor on September 4, more than a month behind schedule. Heading North to catch the Gulf Stream current the convoy sailed into the first hurricane of the season. By Tuesday, September 6, running before the pounding of gale force winds, five ships of the fleet were swept toward the Florida Keys. One by one they were grounded and wrecked including the Atocha. Three seaman and two black slaves, who lashed themselves to the rigging, were the only survivors of the ill fated ship and described the last hours of the galleon. With her foremast gone and sails tattered, the high sterncastle caught the wind and sped the doomed ship backwards through the towering seas. Suddenly lifted high on a wave, the Atocha smashed violently down onto a reef, ripping great holes in her hull. Unable to escape in time, 260 crew and passengers perished and tons of gold, silver and other precious cargo were lost to the sea when the ship quickly sank. All attempts to locate the shipwreck failed until the location of the primary cultural deposit was made 20 miles west of Key West near the Marquesas Keys by Treasure Salvors, Inc., on July 29th 1985.
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| Lucayan Beach, wreck 1628. |
Mexico
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4R (1618-20)MO MEXICO KM 38
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NGC INELIGIBLE TYPE
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Note: COIN IS INELIGIBLE FOR ENCAPSULATION
DESCRIPTION
Date: 1618-1620
RULER: Philip IV
ASSAYER: D-Diego de Godoy
WEIGHT: 13.5g.
The obove coin was recovered from an unknown shipwreck sunk in 1628 off the coast of Grand Bahama Island.
THE 1628 SHIPWRECK DISCOVERED ON LUCAYAN BEACH
The Lucayan Beach wreck/treasure, sunk off Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas. Since the accidental discovery in 1964 of around 10,000 silver cobs (dated up to and including 1628) in 10 feet of water just 1,300 yards from the Lucayan Beach Hotel, the mystery of identifying the lost vessel has never been solved. Because of the date, popular opinion associates the wreck with the taking of the Spanish 1628 Fleet in Matanzas Bay, Cuba by the Dutch pirate/national hero Piet Heyn, who reported losing two of the vessels on the way back to Europe. Three names proposed for the ship(s) by various sellers over the years were the Van Lynden, the Santa Gertrude (or Gertrudis) and the Romario, with scant evidence to support the attributions.
Practically all the coins have been Mexican 8 and 4 reales of the assayer D period (Diego de Godoy 1618-1634), some in quite nice condition and a few with clear dates, which of course are rare.
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| Concepcion (La Capatana), wrecked 1654. |
Bolivia
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8R 1652P E BOLIVIA KM 21, Type VIII, (1-PH-6)
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NGC VF Details
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DESCRIPTION
Date: 1652 (1-PH-6)
RULER: Philip IV
ASSAYER: E-Antonio de Ergueta
WEIGHT: 26.9g.
This specimen is an example of the beautiful pillars and waves design, minted in the first three years of its inception. An infamous period of stealing, corruption and fraud at the Potosi mint ended in 1652, and several assayers and mint officials were publicly executed. As a solution to the mint scandal, a new design of coinage - the Pillars and Waves series- was implemented. The very first pillars and waves cobs were struck for only a few months in 1652 but the design was so popular that it was used on coinage for the next 120 years.
It was struck in Potosi under the rule of Philip IV of Spain and was salvaged from the treasure ship Jesus Maria de la Limpa Concepcion, better known as "La Capitana". This coin is a post transitional Type VIII coin, minted in mid 1652 after the design had changed from the shield type to pillars and waves. However, the change was not instantaneous. There were eight distinct types of reverses and two types of obverses known for this transition.
The following reverse design defines the Type VIII version:
I*PH*6
P 8 E
PLV SLV TRA
E 52 P
THE 1654 SHIPWRECK OF THE SPANISH GALLEON CAPITANA
The above coin was recovered from the wreckage of the Capitana.The huge galleon of the Armada del Mar del Sur was lost near Chanduy, Ecuador in 1654 while sailing from Peru to Panama. This wreck was the largest loss ever experienced by the Spanish South Seas (Pacific) Fleet. Official records reported the loss of 3 million pesos of silver (2,212 ingots, 216 chests of coins and 22 boxes of wrought silver). This treasure was being hauled from Peru to Panama for further trans shipment to Spain. All coins of the Capitana are rare because the wreck was the result of faulty navigation and was deliberately run aground in shallows of only 24 ft. after irreparable damage and taking on water after striking a rock 12 hours earlier. However, as a result of the controlled wreck of the Capitana, the Spanish authorities, subsequently spent the next nine years recovering treasure from the site thus leaving little for modern salvors to recover. The Spanish salvors finally gave up in 1663 after reporting to the crown that there was nothing left to recover. The site was then abandoned and sanded over and the location remained forgotten for 330 years.
However, in 1997, divers re-discovered the resting place of the remains of the Capitana and that same year, using modern equipment removed all the sand down to bedrock. However, the Spanish recovery effort had indeed been thorough and only another 6,200 coins were recovered.
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| Maravillas, wrecked 1656. |
MEXICO - TO 1823
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8R (1634-65)MOP PHILIP IV , Menzel MX-253 MARAVILLAS WRECK
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NGC FINE Details
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DESCRIPTION
Date: 1634-65
RULER: Charles II
ASSAYER: P-Unknown
WEIGHT: 22.5g.
Note: Partial date, assayer's, initial and mint mark are visible.
THE 1656 SHIPWRECK OF THE SPANISH GALLEON MARAVILLAS
As the "almiranta" of the homeward bound Spanish fleet in January of 1656, the Maravillas was officially filled with over five million pesos of treasure (probably much more in contraband, as was usually the case). That treasure included much of the silver salvaged from the South Seas Fleet "Capitana" of 1654 that wrecked on Chanduy Reef off Ecuador. The ill-fated treasure sank once again when the Maravillas unexpectedly ran into shallow water and was subsequently rammed by one of the other ships of it's fleet, forcing the captain to try and ground the Maravillas on a nearby reef on Little Bahama Bank off Grand Bahama Island. In the ensuing chaos, exacerbated by strong winds, most of the 650 people on board the ship died in the night, and the wreckage scattered. Spanish salvagers soon recovered almost half a million pesos of treasure quickly, followed by more recoveries over the next several decades, yet with over half of the official cargo still unfound.
The first re-discovery of the Maravillas in the 29th century was by Robert Marx and his company Seafinders in 1972, whose finds were featured in an auction by Schulman in New York in 1974. The second big salvage effort was by Herbert Humphrey's and his company Marex in the late 1980s and early 1990s, resulting in two big sales by Christie's of London in 1992 and 1993. The wreck area is still being searched today, but officially the Bahamian government has not granted any leases on the site since the early 1990s. It is possible the bulk of the treasure is still to be found.
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| Verguilde Draeck, wrecked 1656. |
MEXICO - TO 1823
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4R 1652MO P , KM 19, Menzel Mx-253 VERGULD DRAECK
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NGC VF Details
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DESCRIPTION
Date: 1652
RULER: Philip IV
ASSAYER: P-Unknown
WEIGHT: 12.3g.
Crude flan (partially flat due to uneven thickness) but with full date, most of cross and shield and oMP, deeply toned all over, minimal corrosion.
ASSAYER: P-Unknown
THE 1656 SHIPWRECK OF THE DUTCH SHIP VERGULDE DRAECK (GILT DRAGON)
The ship was on it's way from the Netherlands to Batavia Jakarta with a modest amount of just silver cobs (eight chests totaling 45,950 coins), mostly Mexican but also some cobs from Potosi and Spain. It hit a reef some three miles from land in the early morning hours of April 28, 1656. Only 75 of the 193 people on board were able to reach the shore. Seven of them soon left in the ship's pinnace to seek help in Batavia. When authorities there learned of the wreck, several attempts were made to rescue the other survivors and more importantly, the eight chests of treasure, but no sign of the wreck or survivors was ever found.
The wreck remained undiscovered until 1963, when spear fishermen stumbled upon it and began to recover coins and artifacts. Salvage efforts to date, mostly under the supervision of the Western Australian Museum, have yielded only about half of the total coins officially recorded to be on board this ship.
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| Consolacion, wrecked 1679. |
Bolivia
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0.9310 Silver..8102 ASW 8R 1679P VR BOLIVIA ,KM 26, Menzel Po-302 SANTA MARIA CONSOLACION
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NGC VF Details
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DESCRIPTION
Date: 1679
RULER: Charles II
ASSAYER: Not Visible
WEIGHT: 22.3g
This is an 8 Reales Spanish cob coin with a 2-digit date on the obverse and another partial date on the reverse. It is in good shape with very little thinning from its 300 year exposure.
OBVERSE: A centered cross with clear castles and lions and a bold two-digit date (79), mintmark (P) and a partial denomination (8).
REVERSE: Centered clear pillars and waves, one bold mintmark (P) and a bold denomination (8). It also has a partial date (the 7 is clear) as well as part of the motto PLVS VLTRA (More Beyond). This coin was minted at Potosi, in 1679 during the reign of King Charles II of Spain.
THE 1681 SHIPWRECK OF THE SPANISH GALLEON CONSOLACION
In the spring of 1681, the small galleon Santa Maria de la Concolacion left Callao for Panama. She was part of the Armada del Mar del Sur but it had left without her because she had been delayed over a month off the port of Arica waiting for the arrival of her cargo of freshly minted Spanish coins and iron commodities from Europe. Her Captain and crew were now faced with sailing the roughly 2,000 miles of pirate infested waters alone.
The Consolacion was only a small private galleon of about 440 tons. She carried 26 bronze and iron cannon and her Captain was Juan de Lerma. Her cargo consisted of 146,000 pesos in silver coins, 327 large and 479 small silver bars, and gold "tejos" (small bars) worth 34,000 pesos. She also carried dozens of chests of tightly packed mule shoes, nails for the mule shoes, copper, tin and lead ingots, bronze religious medallions and other goods of value.
While approaching the small island of Santa Clara or El Muerto, the crew spotted sails in the distance and attempted to hide behind the island. The ship was caught in the swift currents and hit a reef rupturing her hull. The Captain immediately ordered heavy items thrown overboard, and as the pirates approached, he ordered the ship set afire and the crew to abandon ship and seek refuge on the island.
The English pirates, led by Bartholomew Sharp, captured two of her crew and were so furious when they learned of the treasure they had been deprived of they beheaded the crew. They tried in vain to recover the treasure through the efforts of local fishermen. Spanish attempts later were also fruitless. The wreck was soon forgotten and covered by sand, it lay buried on the reef for over 300 years.
A shipwreck was discovered by ROBCAR in 1997 and shortly after, marine archeologist Robert Marx discovered documents and a ship's manifest in the archives of Spain that identified the wreck as Consolacion.
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| Joanna, wrecked 1682. |
MEXICO - TO 1823
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0.9310 Silver 8R 1681MO L , KM 46, Menzel MX-224
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NGC INELIGIBLE TYPE
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Note: COIN IS INELIGIBLE FOR ENCAPSULATION
DESCRIPTION
Date: 1681
MONARCH: Charles II
ASSAYER: Martin Lopez(1677-1705)
WEIGHT: 20.6g.
THE 1682 SHIPWRECK OF THE BRITISH EAST INDIAMAN JOANNA
The Joanna sunk on June 8 1682 while on her way to Surat on the West coast of India. She got separated from her convoy and sank in rough seas on a reef off the Southern most tip of South Africa sending 24 people to their death. Eventually, 104 survivors reached the Dutch colony of Cape Town, from which a salvage party was soon dispatched. The Joanna's cargo consisted of 70 chests of silver coins, of which the salvage party reported having recovered only about 28,000 guilders' worth.
In November 1982 the wreck was relocated. Sealit, an amateur diving syndicate, the South African Cultural History Museum and the National Monument Council worked closely together on the excavation. The group of South Africans divers led by Gavin Clackworthy, brought up silver ingots and over 23,000 silver cobs, most of them Mexican 4 and 8 Reales of Charles II in generally low grade condition.
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| Association, wrecked 1707. |
BOLIVIA - COLONIAL
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0.9310 Silver. .8103oz. ASW 8R 1691P VR , KM 26, Menzel Po-312 ASSOCIATION WRECK
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NGC FINE Details
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DESCRIPTION
DATE: 1691
MONARCH: Charles II
ASSAYER: VR- Pedro de Villar
WEIGHT: 26.5 g.
The 1707 SHIPWRECK OF THE ENGLISH MAN O' WAR HMS ASSOCIATION.
The coin shown above was recovered from the famous wreck of HMS Association, the English flagship lost with 800 hands on Gilstone Reef in the Isles of Scilly on the terrible night of 22nd October 1707.
Determined to spend the winter of 1707 at home, the Lord High Admiral of England, Sir Cloudisley Shovell, set sail from Gibralter on the 29th of September on his 90 gun flagship HMS Association. Entering tempestuous English waters in a howling gale on October the 22nd and what can only be called guess work navigation, the renowned Admiral - known for his "bravery almost to point of folly"- gave the foolhardy order that led his storm tossed fleet of 29 great Men o'War straight onto the treacherous rocks of the Isles of Scilly, sending 4 mighty warships and 1,800 men-including all 800 on board the Association- to their tragic end. Anguished screams of terror and the dreadful rending of ships timbers joined the thundering roar of wind and water as the battered ships were lost to the raging sea.
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| 1715 Plate Fleet, wrecked 1715. |
Mexico
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0.9310 Silver. 8R (1714)MO J MEXICO ,K M 47, Menzel MX-275, Type 1 1715 PLATE FLEET
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NGC VF Details
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DESCRIPTION
MONARCH: Philip V
MINT: Mexico
ASSAYER: (J) Jose Eustaquio de Leon
WEIGHT: 24.6g.
This is an 8 Reales Spanish cob coin minted in Mexico with some of the identification visible.
OBVERSE: The "o" and the top of an "M" are visible on the left side of the shield that are part of the "oMJ" mint/assayer mark. To the left of the crown (above the shield) the bottom halves of the last two digits of the date the-"1" and "4" of a "1714" date-the year before the sinking.
REVERSE: A centered cross with castles and lions.
THE 1715 WRECK OF THE SPANISH TREASURE FLEET
The coin shown above was recovered from the most spectacular shipwreck along the Atlantic coast of Florida with reports of a loss of 14 million pesos (plus an equal or greater amount in contraband) and as many as 1,000 or more lives.
It occurred in the late summer of the year 1715 when all 12 ships of a richly laden Spanish treasure fleet under command of Captain-General Don Juan Esteban de Ubilla fell victim to a violent hurricane.
The fleet had suffered many delays, and had been sitting idle for nearly two years. Pressure had been mounting for the fleet to sail. The Spanish crown was in dire need of money: so were merchants who had been unable to make their exotic goods available for sale on the European market. Under this tremendous pressure, Ubilla made the decision to start the long and perilous voyage back to the Old World, even though the hurricane season had long begun. This decision would prove to be fatal, for unknown to the Spaniards a tremendous and exceptionally powerful hurricane was brewing to the southeast of Cuba.
The great treasure fleet of 1715 sailed from Havana harbor in the early morning of July 24th, a beautiful and calm day, with a gentle breeze to help the ships find the Florida Current which ran north and up the Straits of Florida. For the first 5 days the voyage was uneventful with the weather remaining good and giving no indication whatsoever of the rapidly approaching killer storm. But on July 29th, long swells started to appear, coming from the southeast. The atmosphere became heavy with moisture with the sun shinning brightly through the haze. A gentle breeze still blew and the sea was smooth, but the swells started to make the ship gently dip and roll. Experienced navigators, pilots, and old hands started to be concerned. They knew that these were the early signs do an impending tropical storm.
On the morning of July 30th, just south of Cape Canaveral, winds had begun to pick up and by late afternoon had increased to over 30 knots and the waves reaching 20 feet. The velocity of the wind kept increasing, and by midnight, the ships were barely under control. Around 4 a.m. on July 31st, the hurricane struck the doomed ships with all it's might, driving one ship after another on the jagged reefs. The ships broke up like wooden toys. Ubilla's Capitana disintegrated, crushed on the reef like matchsticks. Almost all aboard were killed, including Captain General Ubilla. The entire fleet was lost, and of the some twenty five hundred persons aboard various ships, over one thousand perished.
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| Vliegenthart, wrecked 1735. |
MEXICO - TO 1823
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0.9160 Silver 8R 1732MO F COB KM 40a, Menzel MX 329, Type II VLIEGENTHART
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NGC NOT SUITABLE FOR CERTIFICATI
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DESCRIPTION
DATE: 1732
RULER: Philip V
ASSAYER: F-Filipe Rivas de Angulo
WEIGHT: 13.2g.
THE 1735 SHIPWRECK OF THE DUTCH EAST INDIAMAN VILEGNTHART
The above coin was recovered from the wreck of the Dutch ship VILEGNTHART.
On May 5,1730 The Vliegenthart (Flying Hart) was launched as the newest addition to the impressive fleet of the Dutch East India Company. She was about 145 feet long and 36 feet wide. Like other ships in the fleets, the Vliegenthart was designed for the long and dangerous journey to the other side of the world. Due the threat of attack, the Vliegenthart was heavily armed with 42 guns. The Vliegenthart made her first journey to the East Indies in late 1731, returning to the Dutch port of Rammekens in the province of Zeeland in August 1734.
After being refitted over the winter months, the Vliegenthart left Netherlands once again for the East Indies on February 3, 1735. On board were 167 seamen, 83 soldiers, and six passengers plus a small treasure hoard of gold and silver coins that would be used to trade for silk and spices and precious gems. However, the Vliegenthart and her smaller companion ship the Anna Catharina never left Dutch waters. With a strong gale blowing, both ships were accompanied by a pilot boat, Mercurius, whose orders were to steer the vessels through the treacherous sand banks of the Schelder and to stay with them until they reached the open water and the Isle of Wight. However, the deadly combination of a Northeast gale, a Spring tide and pilot error sent her onto a sandbar behind her sister ship. The latter ship broke apart while the Vliegenthart damaged and firing her cannons in distress, slipped off the sandbar and quickly sank in 10 fathoms (60 feet) of water. The sinkings were almost certainly due to pilot error, as the ships should have been in open water before darkness, Everyone of the 461 sailors, soldiers and merchants aboard perished.
Salvage attempts were made but were unsuccessful accept they did turn up a secret map that did not emerge from obscurity until 1977. A London attorney, Rex Cowan, discovered the wreck in 1981, and in 1983 found their first coins , one of three chests of Mexican silver and Dutch gold coins totaling 67,000 guilders. The second chest was smashed on the seabed and it's contents partially salvaged, while the third chest, intact like the first, came up in 1992. Among the silver coins found were thousands of Mexican cobs, predominantly 8 Reales, many with clear dates in the early 1730s and mostly in excellent condition.
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| Rooswijk, wrecked 1739. |
MEXICO - TO 1823
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0.9170 Silver. .7980 oz. ASW 8R 1737MO MF KM 103, GIL M-8-9 ROOSWIJK WRECK
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NGC XF Details
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DESCRIPTION
DATE: 1730
RULER: Philip V
ASSAYER: MF - Manuel de Leon and Francisco Antonio de la Pena y Flores
WEIGHT: 26.6g.
THE 1739 SHIPWRECK OF THE DUTCH EAST INDIAMAN ROOSWIJK
The coin shown above was recovered from the wreck of the Dutch East Indiaman (VOC) Rooswijk, which sank off the English coast on the treacherous Goodwin Sands with the loss of all hands during the month of December 1739. The Rooswijk sailed from the Dutch coastal island of Texel in December of 1739 bound for Batavia, modern Jakarta. She was carrying a fortune in silver, mainly in 1.9 kilogram bars that had been mined in Spanish ruled Mexico and shipped by Spanish vessels from Mexico to Cadiz and then sold to the Dutch and melted down into bars.
The ship disappeared just a day after leaving port with 250 crew and soldiers. There were no survivors and the world learned of the disaster when English fishermen found a wooden chest full of letters that identified the ship. More wreckage was found on Britain's South coast but nobody knew precisely where it had sunk.
In 2005 a British sports diver, Ken Welling found the wreckage. Underwater excavations have recovered all the silver bullion and more than a thousand artifacts. Other cargo included substantial quantities of sheet copper, saber blades and masonry.
Evidence of life onboard was found in layers that reflected the vessel's social and architectural stratification. When some time after the disaster the floor timbers collapsed the contents of each deck had simply fallen on top of one another deck.
The discovery of so many silver bars complete with "packaging" is unique and is helping archaeologists understand the scale and nature of the 18th century international bullion trade, which financially underpinned most of the European colonial ventures of that time.
The Rooswijk was carrying cargo which included silver specie and silver ingots for trading in the East Indies. The ship was heavily armed with 30 guns, her displacement was approximately 850 tons, and she was 145 feet in length.
The Rooswijk belonged to the Regional Chamber of Amsterdam, the largest and most powerful of the chambers of the VOC. The remains of the vessel were found during a significant movement of the sands which had covered it for centuries. A survey and controlled excavation was carried out by a professional archaeological team in 2005.
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| Hollandia, wrecked 1743. |
MEXICO - TO 1823
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0.9170 Silver. .7980 oz. ASW 8R 1737MO MF , KM 103, GIL M-8-9 HOLLANDIA WRECK
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NGC XF Details
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DESCRIPTION
DATE: 1737
RULER: Philip V
ASSAYER: MF-Manuel de Leon / Francisco de la Pena y Flores
WEIGHT: 26.3g.
THE 1743 SHIPWRECK OF THE DUTCH EAST INDIAMAN HOLLANDIA
The coin shown above was recovered from the wreckage of the Hollandia.
On July 3,1743 the Hollandia set sail on her maiden voyage from Texel in the Netherlands bound for Batavia (present day Indonesia). On board were 276 sailors and soldiers as well as a number of distinguished passengers under command of Captain Ian Kelder.
The Hollandia had begun her trip by heading Westward through the English Channel, but through a disastrous navigational error headed West-Northwest taking her dangerously close to the rocks of the Scilly Isles. Efforts to correct the mistake failed and the Hollandia struck Gunner Rock on the night of July 13th.
Badly damaged but still afloat, the Captain ordered one or more of the Hollandia's cannons to be fired as a distress signal but terrified islanders were unable to assist in the dark night and the perilously rough sea conditions.
By morning nothing remained of the ship but floating debris; all 276 members aboard perished and the ship's precious cargo was lost.
In 1972 Rex Cowan, with his professional team of divers and technicians located the Hollandia's remains which were scattered over a wide area of the sea bed, and a limited number of coins were recovered from the wreck.
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View Coin
| Reigersdaal, wrecked 1747. |
Mexico
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0.9170 Silver. .7980 oz. ASW, 8R 1743 MEXICO SHIPWRECK ,KM 103, GIL M-8-15
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NGC
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DESCRIPTION
DATE: 1743
RULER: Charles III
ASSAYER: MF - Manuel de Leon & Francisco de la Pena y Flores
WEIGHT: 26.9g.
THE 1747 SHIPWRECK OF THE DUTCH EAST INDIAMAN REYGERSDAHL
The coin shown above was recovered from the wreck of the Reygersdahl, which sank off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, October 29, 1747.
Here's the incredible story of this tragedy. In October 1747, the Dutch ship Reygersdahl, after being at sea for 4 1/2 months, anchored off a beach near Cape Town to acquire provisions. When strong winds rose from the Southeast, Captain Jan Blandt decided to make for the Cape without delay. As the weather worsened, many of the crew, including the Captain, became violently seasick. Forced to anchor off the Cape in the storm, the crew lowered the sails and hoped the weather would calm. As the storm raged, the anchor rope broke and the ship was set adrift toward the rocks offshore. A cannon shot from shore signaled danger. So the Captain was brought from his sickbed to command the deck. But, the crew could not keep the ship from hitting the rocks. Only 17 men survived.
The wreck of the Reygersdahl dimmed into history until a group of treasure hunters discovered the account of the disaster recorded by the crew's survivors. The account stated that one of the money chests, containing four bags of silver, had been recovered on the beach at the time of the wreck. With this clue, in mid-1979, treasure hunters recovered several thousand Pillar Dollars minted by Spain in the New World between 1732 and 1744".
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View Coin
| El Cazador, wrecked, 1784. |
Mexico
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0.9030 Silver .7858 oz. ASW, 8R 1783MO FF MEXICO EL CAZADOR KM 106.2
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NGC GENUINE
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DESCRIPTION
Date: 1783
RULER: Charles III
ASSAYER: FF-Francisco de la Pena / Francisco Arance Cobos
WEIGHT: 26.9g.
THE 1784 SHIPWRECK OF THE EL CAZADOR
The coin shown above was recovered from the EL CAZADOR, a Spanish brigantine of war. On October 20, 1783 it was sent by Charles III of Spain on a mission to bring much needed hard currency to the Spanish colony of Louisiana. The ship sailed to Vera Cruz Mexico where it was loaded with silver coins. On January 11, 1784, it sailed for the port of New Orleans and was never heard from again.
On August 2,1993, the trawler Mistake, while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico fifty miles south of New Orleans, hung it's net on a snag. The trawler was captained by Jerry Murphy, and it's home port was Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the crew finally hoisted their net and dumped the contents on the deck, they found the net was filled with silver coins. All of the coins bore markings from the Spanish mint in Mexico, along with the date 1783.
The treasure of the El Cazador, consisting of over 400,000 Spanish 8 Reales and an equal amount of smaller denomination Spanish colonial coins from the Mexico City mint, was intended to stabilize the Spanish monetary system in colonial North America. Her loss contributed to Spain's eventual conveyance of Louisiana to France's Napoleon in 1800. The rest is history, as three years later in 1803, Napoleon of France sold Louisiana to the United States, instantly doubling the size of the country.
We may never know what mysterious force sank her, but it is certain that her lost treasure holds the key to the birth of the nation we know today.
Just Imagine what would of happened if this ship hadn't sunk and made it to Louisiana. America might have become a Spanish country and not at all what it is today..........
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