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Small, coin-like cut piece of a gold "finger" bar, 28.5 grams, marked with fineness XXI and three do

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Shipwreck Ingots Start Price:1,800.00 USD Estimated At:3,500.00 - 5,000.00 USD
Small, coin-like cut piece of a gold  finger  bar, 28.5 grams, marked with fineness XXI and three do
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This item SOLD at 2012 Oct 25 @ 21:47UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Small, coin-like cut piece of a gold "finger" bar, 28.5 grams, marked with fineness XXI and three dots (21-3/4K), from the Santa Margarita (1622). 3/4" x 1/2" x 1/4". The importance of this little piece cannot be understated, for it is of the correct fineness and very close to the weight of an 8 escudos, made just before any gold cobs (let alone 8E) were struck in the New World and therefore should be considered among the first gold "coins" made in the New World. This piece is clear proof as to why "finger" bars were made with their finenesses stamped several times down their lengths: so that they could be cut down to coin-sized pieces like this one, with the fineness there for everyone to see! This piece was therefore tradable at the value of an 8E without the need for testing and weighing. The technical term for gold "pre-coins" such as this one was "oro corriente," and their existence was much discussed in documents of the time, as without tax stamps it could not be proven that they had been subjected to the king's "quinto" (20% tax). This piece is more or less rectangular, with very sharply cut ends, one of which shows an angled secondary cut, the bottoms of the cuts quite sharp. While coin-like gold pieces are better known from earlier wrecks like "Tumbaga" (ca. 1528) and "Golden Fleece" (ca. 1550), this one is quite rare as being from the Santa Margarita. Also note the important pedigree, as once owned by the cartographer who pinpointed the "mother lode" in 1985. From the Santa Margarita (1622), with certificate #96-M-80, and pedigreed to the Ed Little collection.

Additional note #1: The "96" scratched onto the back of this ingot was done by the Fisher people (matching the certificate number), who were in the habit of stamping the artifact number onto bars except in cases where the ingots were too little (as here) or so thin that stamping would crack them.

Additional note #2: The traditional interpretation of oro corriente is a cut piece that shows a quinto (tax stamp), which is not the case here. However, the exactness of this piece's value (being slightly low in fineness but cut slightly overweight to compensate) tells us it had to be intended to circulate like an 8 escudos. The problem with oro corriente in its truest sense is that the fineness is not manifest, the more important aspect being proof of tax paid. This piece, on the other hand, very clearly shows its value (via fineness), at the sacrifice of visible evidence of taxation. One look at a gold "finger" bar tells you that no small, cut piece of spendable value could have both markings.