2526

Large, well-formed tin ingot deeply marked with seals for the English East India Co. and the Cornish

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Shipwreck Artifacts Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 3,750.00 USD
Large, well-formed tin ingot deeply marked with seals for the English East India Co. and the Cornish
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This item SOLD at 2010 Oct 23 @ 17:49UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Large, well-formed tin ingot deeply marked with seals for the English East India Co. and the Cornish tin- mining company Donithorne, very rare. 66 lb, approx. 21" x 5-1/2" x 3". At first glance one would think and hope that this long, rectangular object with 2-1/2" extensions for handles on top is a rather large silver ingot; and while its actual composition of pure tin is not as intrinsically valuable, its rarity and importance cannot be understated, as very few such items have ever been reported as recovered from shipwrecks. In fact the only other one we can trace is from the Earl of Abergavenny (sunk in 1805 off Weymouth, England), another East India Co. vessel from the same time period. Both ingots bear very large, deep and clearly readable round seals, one of which shows the heart-shaped E.I.C. logo, while the other is the company logo for Donithorne London, a well-known exporter of tin from Cornwall. Tin was in much demand around the world for making pewter, brass and bronze. So important were the ingots heading to China, in fact, that contemporaneous salvagers just after the sinking of both wrecks were sure to retrieve them, leaving only these two for us to study. To our knowledge this is the first shipwreck tin ingot ever to be offered at auction. From the Queen, sunk in 1799 off Salvador, Brazil.