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Single cut piece of a silver ingot ("plata corriente") from the "tumbaga" wreck (ca. 1528).

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Bullion Start Price:140.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 300.00 USD
Single cut piece of a silver ingot ( plata corriente ) from the  tumbaga  wreck (ca. 1528).
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This item SOLD at 2009 Apr 09 @ 13:28UTC-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).
Single cut piece of a silver ingot ("plata corriente") from the "tumbaga" wreck (ca. 1528). 12.4 grams, roughly 1½" x 7/8" x ¼". A single, triangular cut silver piece of dark, mixed-purity silver (a bit worn and corroded), among the first of these items we have ever seen from this popular wreck, and in fact they are unexpected since the "tumbaga" bars were mostly well-formed ingots and not the thin "splashes" from which these cut pieces must have originated. Small pieces such as these are known to have circulated in the colonial areas as erstwhile coins, and in fact there is much documentation about the illegality of these unmarked, untaxed "coins" and their subsequent acceptance and eventual replacement and eradication. They are very rare items today. From the "tumbaga" wreck (ca. 1528).