414

Large coral head with impression of the top of a large silver bar.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Shipwreck Ingots Start Price:6,000.00 USD Estimated At:6,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD
Large coral head with impression of the top of a large silver bar.
SOLD
Sign In To View Winning Bid
This item SOLD at 2010 Oct 21 @ 14:42UTC-4 : AST/EDT
All items are genuine unless noted. Most shipwreck coins and artifacts come with a certificate of authenticity (please check the description for each item). By bidding in this auction you understand and agree to the Terms and Conditions posted here.
Large coral head with impression of the top of a large silver bar. 22 lb, roughly 14" x 10" x 8". While lacking the intrinsic value of an actual ingot, this artifact is far more interesting and attractive, being a complete head of brain coral that grew on the top of a loaf-shaped ingot and retained the markings (in retrograde) of the bar when they were separated after salvage. The visible markings include manifest number IIUDCCCLXII (2862), monogrammed owner/shipper marks (siglas) VA(N?) and A, and fineness/weight 11:18G2326M (for "granos" and "marcos"?) flanked by assayer's cartouches (one rectangular, the other a rotated square), plus three large tax stamps (quintos), all very prominent and sharp, giving you an idea of how clearly marked the bars were before they corroded under the sea. We have never seen another artifact like this and stress that it is not just a fabulous display but is also a very important key to reading and understanding the actual ingots, not to mention that it is actually pictured on page 25 of Robert Marx's book Sunken Treasure--How to Find It (1990). (Fragile--pickup only.) From the Maravillas, sunk in 1656 off Grand Bahama Island.