Anyone into shipwreck coins? The idea intrigues me when you think about the old Spanish and Mexican eight-real or doubloon. My issue is that silver is usually in really bad shape from the salt damage and gold is just too expensive to collect something that really is not my specialty in the hobby… Also, how can you actually be sure that something is from a wreck? Thoughts?
I have a 1 real from the Santa Maria de La Consolacion. I got it from a dealer I trust, and even though it can be faked, it has a certificate. I dont know much about shipwreck coins, but I'd imagine many of the actual people who salvage the coins probably sell them too.
There are some coins where the entire mintage went down with a ship. So anybody who has one, it most assuredly came from the wreck. Like these - With many others, the wreck , it's discovery, and the recovery of coins from the wreck, are well documented. So with them it's a pretty good bet they are genuine shipwreck coins. Most have certificates that were given with the sale. Of course any coin can easily be swapped out and another take it's place along with the certificate. Or, fake certificates can easily be printed up. So just like with any other coin, who you buy it from is often the most important thing.
As Doug pointed out, sometimes the entire mintage of a coin series went down with the ship - the Admiral Gardner wreck had the entire mintage of coins for British India, another wreck in WWII has nearly the entire mintage of 1941 Hong Kong coins still in it - and not located still. Much of the Massachusetts Bay Pine Tree coinage recently in the market is coming from a wreck off the coast of Canada that sank ca. 1710-11. The latter wreck served as proof that the Massachusetts coins were still circulating into the 18th century.
Personally I don't have anything AGAINST a coin recovered from a wreck, but I refuse to pay extra simply for that fact. That is the problem with some of these coins, they want premiums because it was found in such and such wreck. Sorry, I collect coins not stories of find sites. Collect the coin, and if the story of where its found is interesting, then cool for you man. Everyone is into something different. Chris
Understood and I agree. I am an avid coin collector and scuba (wreck) diver, so I guess these two things just make sense to me. Even if I paid a premium, I don’t regret the added expense because it’s something that I wanted to add to my collection.
True. If its for your collection, and your pleasure, then I would not mind either. Like I said we are all into different things. Most here would turn up their noses at the ugly little bronzes I chase after. Chris
I think its worth a little extra if you know who had the coin before, where it was found and why it was there. The full name of La Consolación was the Santa Maria de la Consolación. This small galleon was part of a larger fleet of Spanish galleons called the Armada del Mar del Sur (South Sea Armada) which carried treasure between Peru and Panama. The treasure was transported overland to Portobello then loaded onto Spanish galleons setting sail for Spain In April 1681, the Armada del Mar del Sur left Callao (the port of Peru) for Panama. The Armada’s departure was delayed for over a month waiting for La Consolación. She was waiting for silver bullion from the Potosi mine. The Armada had already set sail by the time La Consolación arrived in Callao. The Viceroy of Peru commanded La Consolación to set sail alone despite advice from royal officials who were against it because of the ever present danger of pirates. The treasure had to reach Panama in time to set sail with the Armada for Spain. La Consolación soon met with pirates who were under the direction of Captain Bartholomew Sharpe (an English privateer). The rivalry between Spain and England was fierce in 1681, and Captain Sharpe was on the hunt for Spanish ships loaded with gold and silver. Accounts vary, but Captain Sharpe led anywhere from three to six ships. When La Consolation’s Captain Juan de Lerma saw the pirate ships, he altered course and attempted to seek safety in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The pirates gained on him quickly and he decided to take evasive action near Santa Clara Island, but before he could reach the island he struck a reef. As La Consolación began to take on water, the passengers and crew evacuated on smaller boats and in order to prevent the English from obtaining the treasure, La Consolación was set on fire. They then sailed for the island of Santa Clara for safety. The pirates were furious when they realized the ship had been intentionally set on fire. They followed the survivors (approximately 350), captured many of them and beheaded them when they realized how much treasure had been on La Consolación. Because of Captain Sharpe’s brutal attack on the survivors of La Consolación, the Ecuadorians nicknamed the island of Santa Clara “Isla de Muerto” or “Island of the Dead”.
As one who has actually found the wreck of a Spanish galleon and some of the coins that were on it I can tell you this much, the "cool factor" cannot be denied.
Many times, but many years ago. When I left home at 18 I moved to FL, lived here about 12 years. A year and half of that I spent living on a boat in the Florida Keys. And in 1976, quite by accident, I discovered a wreck in Coffin's Patch. Spent 10 days underwater, 10 hours a day (using a hooka rig), digging the anchor with an air-lift. It was buried 6 ft deep in sand and coral. Length was 14 ft, width at the flukes was 12 ft, took 11 55 gal. drums to float that sucker so we could tow it in and a crane to lift it out. Later we found and recovered several of the cannon, some coins, other artifacts, pretty cool stuff. Managed to keep the location secret. Even Mel Fisher couldn't find it and he sure tried. There's a lot more that to that story but I'll not go into it all here. That winter I left the Keys and did not return. The location of the wreck was not rediscovered until 6 years later in 1982. That time it made the headlines. But someplace down in the Keys there sits a giant anchor from a Spanish galleon with a plaque on its base. That plaque has my name on it. And only a handful of people, most of whom are probably dead by now, even know this story
Very cool story. You just don't hear stuff like this anymore... It seems as though with today’s technology of mapping the ocean floor with sonar and how everyone has a GPS in their pocket and other doodads makes finding wrecks less of an art and more of an enterprise.
Wasn't any art, or science, or anything else in my case. Was nothing but blind luck, pure chance. Only reason I found it was because I knew what a ballast stone was. Kind like coins, a little knowledge can go a looooooong ways
