Lot 359 - Spanish Monarchy

Lot description

Philip III (1598-1621). 8 reales. ND. Mexico. D. (Cal-Type 162). Ag. 18,40 g. Recovered from: "Nuestra Señora de Atocha" (sunk in 1622 off Key West, Florida). Uniform surface corrosion. Retains original tag and Treasure Salvors, Inc. photo certificate #85A-146633. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was the Admiral Galleon of the Tierra Firme Fleet, a twenty-eight-ship fleet carrying an unprecedented amount of treasure from the Americas. Sailing from Havana bound to Spain on the 4th of September 1622, the armada was hit by a massive hurricane in the Florida Keys, most of the fleet being decimated and the treasure sinking to the Atlantic seabed. The Spanish efforts to retrieve the precious cargo weren't fruitful, which led to the scattering of the vast amount of treasure across the Florida coast with subsequent hurricanes. The original manifesto of the Atocha was impressive: 24 tons of silver in 1038 ingots, 180,000 Pesos in silver coins, 582 copper ingots, 125 gold bars and discs, 1,200 pounds of worked silverware and other goods; and that's only what was officially transported, since smuggling treasure to avoid taxes was very common in the period, with some estimating that a large percentage of the total cargo was in contraband. In 1969, treasure hunter Mel Fisher began a long-lasting, 16-year quest to locate the treasure. Over the years, isolated coins and artifacts were found scattered across Florida's "treasure coast", many given to investors who funded the operation. In 1973 three silver bars were found and matched to the original 17th century manifesto, leading the crew closer to the main wreck site. By 1980 a significant part of the Santa Margarita had been located, counting with gold bars, silver coins and jewelry. On July 20th, 1985, the motherlode was located, when divers found a "reef of bars". The main pile of the Atocha provided countless artifacts which quickly became immersed in Florida's pop culture and would later become perhaps the world's most famous shipwreck treasure in history. Est...1500,00.

Starting bid
500 €
|
No bids
|

Auction Lots

Cookies Policy

We use our own and third-party cookies to obtain statistical data on the navigation of our users and improve our services.

Please note that if you accept third-party cookies, you will need to delete them from your browser settings or through the system provided by the third party itself.