The Shipwreck Corner

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I haven't posted any shipwreck items lately and this turned up about a week ago.
It commemorates the loss of the SS Gairsoppa in WW2 and the recovery of her cargo in 2012. It came in a nice wooden box with a COA, descriptive leaflet and a letter from the Chairman of the Merchant Navy Association.







The Sunken Treasure of the SS Gairsoppa: From Wartime Loss to Modern Relic
The history of the SS Gairsoppa silver bars is a story spanning a global war, maritime tragedy, and technological triumph. The original ingots were minted at His Majesty's Mint in Bombay (Mumbai) around 1940-1941, intended to bolster the British war effort and supply the Royal Mint for coinage. In February 1941, the unarmed merchant steamship, separated from its convoy while en route from India to Liverpool, was torpedoed by a German U-boat (U-101) off the coast of Ireland, sinking to a depth of nearly three miles. This loss, which included 3.2 million ounces of silver, was the heaviest single loss of precious metal for Britain during WWII. The Convoy number was SL 64.

For 70 years, the massive silver cargo lay untouched until the wreck was located in 2011. The subsequent salvage operation by Odyssey Marine Exploration between 2012 and 2013 was record-breaking, recovering almost 100 tons of silver using highly advanced, deep-sea robotics. Once on the surface, the majority of the original HM Mint Bombay ingots—too large for the typical investor—were melted down. This historic silver was then refined and re-minted, beginning in 2012, into smaller, more accessible items, most notably the 10-ounce commemorative bars. This modern bar was struck by the London Mint and came with a nice wooden case, explanatory leaflet and COA. There were two issues minted, in the previous year (2012) 4700 were minted but this one was minted with the Merchant Navy Flag privy mark with a much smaller issue of 499. I particularly wanted a Merchant Navy issue so was pleased with this. It was bought at a price around $300 less than the original issue which of course confirms you don't buy these commemoratives for any hope of investment unless of course you have struck lucky recently with gold. The current gold price probably means more misfortune with items heading for the melting pot.

 

Wonderful thread! The shipwreck theme cuts across many different coins from different eras.

I'm sorry that I didn't post sooner, so here are a couple of ducatons from the Vliegenthart.

Netherlands, Gelderland
Two ducatons salvaged from the Vliegenthart (1735) 32.6 grams left and 32.5 grams right.


Plus a "biscuit" from the Vliegenthart.

Vliegenthart (1735) "biscuit", encrusted Netherlands ducaton.
48.55 grams; 46mm diameter.

 

This is a coin from a seldom-encountered shipwreck. We never find its coins in the fantastic condition of those recovered from well-known wrecks like the Vliegenthart, Hollandia, or De Liefde. Compare to @robinjojo's beautiful examples from the Vliegenthart.






UNITED PROVINCES, FRIESLAND, escalin (snaphaanschelling), 1623. D/ Shield on a fleur-de-lis cross. R/ Galloping rider left, brandishing his saber. Verk. 128.2; Delm. 800. 5.49 g. With certificate.

From the wreck of the Lastdrager, a flute ship of the French East India Company (VOC) that sank on March 2, 1653, off the Shetland Islands while sailing around Scotland to Batavia. The wreck was found in 1972 by Robert Sténuit northeast of the island of Yell. It was subsequently excavated by the GRASP team, who recovered 500 silver coins, most of them in very poor condition.
Ex Jean Elsen 2025.

I am trying to assemble a collection of at least one coin from every readily available shipwreck. I have managed to acquire many duplicates from the Association, Hollandia, Liefde and a few others. Hopefully I will be able to trade them in the future. I managed to do this, not by choice, buy by placing multiple "low ball" bids in a number of auctions hoping to acquire one but sometimes being unusually successful compared to my same strategy with Ancients which doesn't work very often.

 

SS Erinpura.



32 mm Bronze Medal also minted in Silver for Officers.

This interesting eBay find turned up today.
You can click the links to find out more.

Technically this is not a coin but a medal and was not recovered from a shipwreck but celebrates survivors of a shipwreck and was awarded to their rescuers.

This is the story behind this artifact.

SS Erinpura was an E-class ocean liner of the British India Steam Navigation Company, built in 1911. She was the first British India ship built for Eastern service to be fitted with radio. She served in both World Wars. Enemy action in 1943 sank her in the Mediterranean Sea with great loss of life.

Building

William Denny and Brothers built Erinpura in Dumbarton, Scotland, for £108,606. Her yard number was 945. She was launched on 9 October and completed on 6 December. She was named after Erinpura, a village in Rajasthan.

Erinpura had twin screws. Each was driven by a three-cylinder triple expansion engine. Between them the two engines developed a total of 1,059 NHP or 6,657 IHP, giving her a speed of 16.7 knots (30.9 km/h).

Her owners registered Erinpura at Glasgow. Her UK official number was 312998 and her code letters were KPWS. By 1914 she was equipped for wireless telegraphy. Her call sign was MVJ.

Erinpura was one of seven sister ships called the E-class. Four different shipyards built them for the Bay of Bengal – Singapore Straits service. Her sisters were Ellenga, Edavana, Elephanta, Egra, Ellora and Ekma. Erinpura was the sixth to be completed. The E class was one of the most successful, profitable and longest-lasting in the history of British India.

First World War

Erinpura was a troop ship early in the First World War, carrying troops from Karachi to Marseille, and then to Sanniya in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). On 24 December 1914 she ran aground in the Red Sea on Muhanrah Bar, off the Hanish Islands, en route to Abadan. She sustained some damage, but was able to return to Bombay.

She made several more trooping voyages until becoming a hospital ship in August 1915, supporting the Indian Expeditionary Force with 475 beds and 104 medical staff. She served on the Basra – Bombay Service, and from November 1917 was used as an ambulance transport.

Between the wars

This interesting eBay find turned up today.

Technically this is not a coin but a medal and was not recovered from a shipwreck but celebrates survivors of a shipwreck and was awarded to their rescuers.

This is the story behind this artifact.

SS Erinpura was an E-class ocean liner of the British India Steam Navigation Company, built in 1911. She was the first British India ship built for Eastern service to be fitted with radio. She served in both World Wars. Enemy action in 1943 sank her in the Mediterranean Sea with great loss of life.

Building

William Denny and Brothers built Erinpura in Dumbarton, Scotland, for £108,606. Her yard number was 945. She was launched on 9 October and completed on 6 December. She was named after Erinpura, a village in Rajasthan.

Erinpura had twin screws. Each was driven by a three-cylinder triple expansion engine. Between them the two engines developed a total of 1,059 NHP or 6,657 IHP, giving her a speed of 16.7 knots (30.9 km/h).

Her owners registered Erinpura at Glasgow. Her UK official number was 312998 and her code letters were KPWS. By 1914 she was equipped for wireless telegraphy. Her call sign was MVJ.

Erinpura was one of seven sister ships called the E-class. Four different shipyards built them for the Bay of Bengal – Singapore Straits service. Her sisters were Ellenga, Edavana, Elephanta, Egra, Ellora and Ekma. Erinpura was the sixth to be completed. The E class was one of the most successful, profitable and longest-lasting in the history of British India.

First World War

Erinpura was a troop ship early in the First World War, carrying troops from Karachi to Marseille, and then to Sanniya in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). On 24 December 1914 she ran aground in the Red Sea on Muhanrah Bar, off the Hanish Islands, en route to Abadan. She sustained some damage, but was able to return to Bombay.

She made several more trooping voyages until becoming a hospital ship in August 1915, supporting the Indian Expeditionary Force with 475 beds and 104 medical staff. She served on the Basra – Bombay Service, and from November 1917 was used as an ambulance transport.

Between the wars



HMS Topaze

On 15 June 1919 Erinpura again ran aground in the Red Sea in a severe dust storm, this time on the Mushejera Reef. The Topaze-class cruiser HMS Topaze took off her passengers and troops and took them to Aden.

The grateful passengers subscribed to produce the medal above and it was awarded to all of the crew of HMS Topaze.

Note the huge and obvious mistake on the medal. The engraver has made a mistake and the medal is named to SS Berinpura not SS Erinpura.

Attempts to free Erinpura failed, and in 1920 bad weather moving her back and forth on the reef damaging her hull. In September 1920 her owners decided to have her cut in two just forward of her bridge. Her bow was left stuck on the reef, and the rest of the ship was towed to Aden.

Dennys built a new bow in Dumbarton and sent it to Bombay. In 1921 Erinpura was towed to Bombay, where her new bow was fitted. In 1923 she returned to service, based in the Bay of Bengal.

In 1934 there was an international reorganisation of code letters and wireless call signs. Erinpura was given the new call sign GJWN, which also superseded her original code letters.

Second World War

In 1938 Erinpura was called up during the Sudetenland crisis. In March 1940 she was requisitioned for the Liner Division. She continued to operate in the Indian Ocean until April 1943, when she passed through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, where she steamed from Alexandria to Tripoli and back.

On 29 April 1943 Erinpura left Alexandria in Convoy MW 27 to Malta. Captain PV Cotter commanded Erinpura, which was the Commodore's ship for the convoy. She was carrying more than 1,000 troops, including Basuto and Batswanan members of the African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps, and Palestinian Jewish soldiers of 462 Transport Company of the British Army.

She was one of 20 merchant ships in MW 27, along with her sister ship Egra and two other British India SN Co ships. Six Royal Navy destroyers, four Hellenic Navy destroyers and two Royal Navy minesweepers escorted the convoy.

On the evening of 1 May 1943, German bomber aircraft attacked the convoy 30 nautical miles (56 km) north of Benghazi. The ships took evasive action and returned fire. A Heinkel He 111 torpedoed a BTC tanker, the 8,466 GRT British Trust, which caught fire and sank in three minutes, killing 10 of her crew.

In the next wave of the attack, a bomb hit Erinpura in one of her forward holds, causing her to list to starboard and sink within four or five minutes. The DEMS crew of her 12-pounder anti-aircraft gun continued to return fire until she sank. More than 800 people aboard Erinpura were killed. Accounts differ as to numbers, but one counts the dead as 633 Basuto pioneers, 140 Palestinian Jewish soldiers, 11 Batswanan pioneers, 54 of Erinpura's Indian lascar crew, six DEMS gunners and two engineer officers.

An interesting artifact of a vessel that would likely have been forgotten save for this medal. I had certainly never heard of her.
HMS Topaze

On 15 June 1919 Erinpura again ran aground in the Red Sea in a severe dust storm, this time on the Mushejera Reef. The Topaze-class cruiser HMS Topaze took off her passengers and troops and took them to Aden.

The grateful passengers subscribed to produce the medal above and it was awarded to all of the crew of HMS Topaze.

Note the huge and obvious mistake on the medal. The engraver has made a mistake and the medal is named to SS Berinpura not SS Erinpura.

Attempts to free Erinpura failed, and in 1920 bad weather moving her back and forth on the reef damaging her hull. In September 1920 her owners decided to have her cut in two just forward of her bridge. Her bow was left stuck on the reef, and the rest of the ship was towed to Aden.

Dennys built a new bow in Dumbarton and sent it to Bombay. In 1921 Erinpura was towed to Bombay, where her new bow was fitted. In 1923 she returned to service, based in the Bay of Bengal.

In 1934 there was an international reorganisation of code letters and wireless call signs. Erinpura was given the new call sign GJWN, which also superseded her original code letters.

Second World War

In 1938 Erinpura was called up during the Sudetenland crisis. In March 1940 she was requisitioned for the Liner Division. She continued to operate in the Indian Ocean until April 1943, when she passed through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, where she steamed from Alexandria to Tripoli and back.

On 29 April 1943 Erinpura left Alexandria in Convoy MW 27 to Malta. Captain PV Cotter commanded Erinpura, which was the Commodore's ship for the convoy. She was carrying more than 1,000 troops, including Basuto and Batswanan members of the African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps, and Palestinian Jewish soldiers of 462 Transport Company of the British Army.

She was one of 20 merchant ships in MW 27, along with her sister ship Egra and two other British India SN Co ships. Six Royal Navy destroyers, four Hellenic Navy destroyers and two Royal Navy minesweepers escorted the convoy.

On the evening of 1 May 1943, German bomber aircraft attacked the convoy 30 nautical miles (56 km) north of Benghazi. The ships took evasive action and returned fire. A Heinkel He 111 torpedoed a BTC tanker, the 8,466 GRT British Trust, which caught fire and sank in three minutes, killing 10 of her crew.

In the next wave of the attack, a bomb hit Erinpura in one of her forward holds, causing her to list to starboard and sink within four or five minutes. The DEMS crew of her 12-pounder anti-aircraft gun continued to return fire until she sank. More than 800 people aboard Erinpura were killed. Accounts differ as to numbers, but one counts the dead as 633 Basuto pioneers, 140 Palestinian Jewish soldiers, 11 Batswanan pioneers, 54 of Erinpura's Indian lascar crew, six DEMS gunners and two engineer officers.

An interesting artifact of a vessel that would likely have been forgotten save for this medal. I had certainly never heard of her.
Click Links for further Wickipedia reading.

 

My 1655 Piece of 8 complete with the "Shipwreck Effect"


From the Jupiter Shipwreck
Dateline: Sunk Late in 1659 or early 1660

Back in 1660

A Spanish aviso vessel (a kind of dispatch or advice boat, that is, a vessel designed not for warfare or carrying heavy cargo, but for delivering at top speed dispatches or advice, usually to the king or his government; aviso = “advice”) met its end along Jupiter, Florida’s east coast. It is called the Jupiter Wreck. A generation before Jonathan Dickinson’s landing in 1696, (Dickinson lived 1663–1722 and was a Quaker merchant from Port Royal, Jamaica),the original Indian inhabitants of the Jupiter-Hobe Sound area experienced one of the most significant contacts with Europeans anywhere on American soil. Up to this event, the Spaniards, who held north Florida, were unable to subjugate South Florida’s native American population on this rough-weathery coast. What was significant, was that the ship may have been carrying a form of plague, which may have led to the decimation of the native indigenous people of this area.