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Silver ingot #506, 60 lb 9.15 oz troy, Class Factor "4," marked with fineness IIUCCCLXXX (2380/2400)

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Shipwreck Ingots Start Price:20,000.00 USD Estimated At:20,000.00 - 40,000.00 USD
Silver ingot #506, 60 lb 9.15 oz troy, Class Factor  4,  marked with fineness IIUCCCLXXX (2380/2400)
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This item SOLD at 2021 May 07 @ 10:59UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Silver ingot #506, 60 lb 9.15 oz troy, Class Factor "4," marked with fineness IIUCCCLXXX (2380/2400), LA (monogram), W and XII, very rare, ex-Santa Margarita (1622). Size and fineness appear to be the only similarities between this bar--among only seventeen from the Santa Margarita and the first we have ever offered--and the hundreds recovered from the Atocha, as the (supposed) owner/shipper markings on this ingot do not match any of the "siglas" known for Atocha, and also this is the only 1622 Fleet silver bar known with an assayer's "bite" taken from a corner (as opposed to the side or top), like we see on the ca.-1528 "tumbaga" bars, possibly indicating it was made in Mexico and therefore loaded onto the Santa Margarita in Havana. As an early find (1980), this piece also does not fall into the usual grading (Class Factor) that we see for Atocha bars, although the assigned point value of 1748 (about the same as 73 Grade-1 8 reales) indicates that this bar was (and is) highly regarded indeed; in any case, it is not overly corroded but with pit in center where the metal sank during casting, nicely toned all over. (Special shipping applies; pickup in person recommended.) From the Santa Margarita (1622), with original Fisher photo-certificate #506-M-80 (dated 1 Nov. 1982), also with copies of various letters to the investor, one of which shows this bar among in his 1983 division proceeds with total point value of 1748 (equating to a 1/2% share). *^