Who likes shipwreck coins?

Coins from shipwrecks are not desirable unless they are from famous ones. But some like in this condition are... well not to all...



These are kinda like curios... who likes something like this? Let me know I am not alone..

 

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I think it is pretty sweet.

 

BTW these are from the Admiral Gardner shipwreck India Madras Presidency 10 Cash coins. Many of these were recovered and then cleaned. Most were subsequently marketed with a folder of the history of the coins. I will upload some pictures of the folder when I manage to find it.

 

They look awesome! :thumb: I would love to own these!

 

Nice historical collectible.

 

Nice looking clump with a lot of character.

Yes, shipwreck coins have a special appeal to me because I'm a history buff first and coin collector second. To know practically the entire history of the coin from the mint to the shipwreck to the discovery and salvage, and why the coins were on the ship makes a coin extremely interesting, although not always numismatically valuable.

 

I agree...and at least the Chinese don't counterfeit stuff like this (yet).

 

I’m in the same “ship” as yourself PUN INTENDED … I have seen these 1808AG east Indian company coins a lot , I always wanted to pick some up but never found one that I really wanted “eye appeal” … I would defiantly buy a clump like the one in the picture but I will still be waiting a few months before picking one or a few up.

 

awesome!!!

 

Those are absolutely beautiful!

 

I just returned from the Florida Keys and the shipwreck coins are marketed down there quite agressively. All seem quite nice but most are made into jewelry. They seem to be very expensive even when just made of silver. I looked at some of them and in the back of my mind I thought of all the coins I could buy with the money I spent on just one of the shipwrecked coins.

 

It's a fact that buying shipwreck coins in a tourist area is definitely going to cost more money but if you're buying it as a nice momento of your trip and not for numismatic investment purposes, why not?

Prices on Atocha coins from Mel Fisher's in Key West are outrageous, for example. If you ignore the numismatic perspective, however, and you consider all the salvage time, expense, expertise, frustrations, legal battles (111 court cases), deaths (Fisher's son and daughter-in-law died salvaging the wreck), cleaning, and grading, you have to gain some appreciation for the price you pay. Shipwreck coins are not like other coins in this respect.

 

I think in a lot of respects they are of more interest to collectors of maritime memrobilia than coin collectors (Tourists aside) I might buy one if it was from a wreck that held interest for me but I am doubtfull if I would pay up to 10x the going rate of a "Normal" Coin

 

lovely stuff! you are not alone

 

Would love to hold that "clump" of coins, now if only 'they' could tell their story!

 

In my experience, "tourist" coins are typically about 50%-100% overpriced (Atocha coins excepted), but people who buy these types of shipwreck objects (the objects can be coins or other artifacts) will likely keep them forever and have no interest in the numismatic value. I wouldn't say they are foolish for paying more than numismatic value if their purpose is not collecting or reselling. Heck, people have paid thousands of dollars for chunks of concrete from the Berlin Wall or trinkets from the Titanic.

 

If it helps, each of these shipwreck 1808 Admiral Gardner coins sell for anywhere from $2-$10 depending on the condition. I think I am knowledgeable about the market but still could not resist paying more than $100 for this specimen. If these were loose then I would not have paid anything for this, but the sea crust (or whatever it is called) holding these coins together along with the story made me pay this stiff premium to get hold a piece of history.

Maybe I am a sucker.