It is estimated that up to 1/3 of the gold and silver which the Spanish plundered from the New World never made it to Spain. Pirates, and the hardships of the long and perilous journey back to Europe took its toll of the rest. The Spanish ship Nuestra Senora de la Luz was one such loss. The Luz went down in a storm while at anchor of the coast of Montevideo, on the estuary of the River Plate (Rio de la Plata) in 1752. The wreck was located in 1992 and salvaged between 1992/93. This find was remarkable because of the large quantity, and beautiful condition of the gold 8 and 4 Escudos coins which were salvaged. Most of the coins had been minted at the newly created New World mint at Santiago de Chile. The coins were dated mostly 1750 and 1751. Approximately 800 coins dated 1751 were salvaged, and 100-150 dated 1750. Because of the conditions of the coins, it is estimated that the ship was lost in 1752. Along with the santiago gold, a small number of Lima and Bogota 8 and 4 Escudos, as well as Lima and Potosi silver cobs were also salvaged. In addition, some beautiful gold ornaments and boxes, as well asl gold ingots were retrieved from the bottom of the ocean. The government of Uruguay which had ownership of the treasure, comissioned the auction hourse of Sothebys to sell the coins, ingots and other objects in 1993. Here is an example of a Santiago 8 Escudo from that sale. It is dated 1750. Sothebys offered buyers the option to have the coins profesionally cleaned, or to buy them as they were retrieved from the sea after 240 years. I chose to have my specimen uncleaned, and you can see the marine deposits on the coin. Here is a brief summary of the history and salvage of the Luz (taken from the web): Nuestra Señora de la Luz, sunk in 1752 off Montevideo, Uruguay " Like the Capitana (1654) and 1733 Fleet, this wreck is a case for modern salvage of Spanish wrecks where all or most of the registered cargo was found in its own time, for contraband was always a factor and was generally abandoned if the ship did not make its destination. The Luz left Buenos Aires in the summer of 1752 with a load of money bound for Spain, and had just stopped in Montevideo for provisioning when a strong storm swept her into the coastline, spreading wreckage over a wide area and killing all on board. While over 90% of the treasure on board was recovered soon afterward, the powder-hold was never found, and as it turns out, that is where some 200,000 pesos (according to later reports) of contraband had been stored. In April of 1992, divers working under Rubén Collado began to recover gold coins on a wrecksite in the Río de la Plata, and soon it became clear the wreck in question had to be from 1751 or 1752, as none of the coins was dated later than 1751. The finds, which were split with the Uruguayan government and then sold at auction in New York and Montevideo, consisted of mostly milled (bust-type) 8 escudos from the new mint at Santiago, Chile. Also in these auctions were 95 gold cobs and 353 silver cobs, the former mostly Lima 8 and 4 escudos (but also some Bogotá 2 escudos), and the latter mostly 8 and 4 reales from Potosí (with several more gold and silver cob sold privately). The gold, of course, is pristine, but the silver coins all show at least moderate corrosion."
Great history. I take it you are keen to own one of those escudos. This is always interesting to me, the amount of contraband these Spanish treasure ships held. When these shipwrecks are salvaged, it seems like there is always a great deal of money on board that never made it into the official ledgers. Says something about the level of corruption that was a normal part of government and commerce in Spain at the time.
Thank you bhp3rd, Thank you Acanthite (also for nominating this post), Yes, it seems that all of this treasure was carried aboard the Luz 'unoficially' with the hope of avoing duties upon entry into Spain at Cadiz. Corruption back then, like today unfortunately, is pretty much the scourge of Latin America. (If you just consider the sheer amount of wealth which was taken from Latin America 'oficially' by the Colonial powers, Spain and others, you have to wonder at the total amount of material AND cultural wealth which was plundered and destroyed in 4 centuries of colonization......) Regards, Eduard PS- the coin i showed with the marine deposits still clinging to it is the specimen i acquired at the Sothebys sale.
Thanks all, i am glad you enjoyed this post. The coin with the marine deposits still clinging to it is, in my opinion, more attractive and historical than a fully cleaned specimen. It retains that link to its history. I guess it is the secret wish we all have of one day finding long lost treasures.....I wonder what the salvors of this treasure felt like when they started pulling those gold coins out of the sea!
What a brilliant strike on your coin! I'm used to seeing 16th century coins well worn, I didn't think they could be so well struck. Great post!
I came upon this old post of mine from 2009 and thought it may be interesting for some to see as we have so many new members. I have added some newer pictures of my coin from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de la Luz, sunk in 1752. Spanish doubloon minted at Lima, Peru also recovered from the wreck of the LUZ.
Fantastic coins. Most of us, myself included, can only dream of owning one. I couldn't afford one even at melt value. Shipwreck pedigrees are fascinating.
