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Historical Background
Philip IV (1621-1665). 8 reales. 1656. Mexico. P. (Cal-1360). . Recovered from: Maravillas. Slabbed by PNCS. The Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas was the flagship (almiranta) of a Spanish fleet returning to Spain and sank in 1656 near Grand Bahama Island. It officially carried more than five million pesos in treasure, mainly silver, along with the usual contraband transported on such voyages. Part of this wealth came from silver salvaged from another shipwreck of the South Seas Fleet in 1654.
The disaster occurred when the ship unexpectedly ran into shallow water and was then struck by another vessel of the fleet. The captain attempted to beach the ship on a nearby reef, but the chaos and strong nighttime winds led to the loss of the vessel and the scattering of its remains.
Spanish salvagers soon recovered about half a million pesos, and additional recoveries continued for decades, although more than half of the official cargo remains missing. In the twentieth century the wreck was rediscovered by treasure hunters beginning in 1972, whose finds included Mexican, Potosí, and Cartagena silver cobs, as well as some gold coins from Bogotá. The site is still being explored today, and it is possible that a large portion of the treasure remains undiscovered. F. Est...150,00.
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