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SHIPWRECK INGOTS
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"Tumbaga
wreck," sunk circa 1528 off Grand Bahama Island |
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27 |
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Silver "tumbaga" bar #M-131, 5.09 lb., marked with fineness, serial
#, tax stamp, and assayer B~Vo.
When we handled the sale of the "tumbaga" silver bars in the 1990s,
the first ones to go (quickly) were the small, brick-like bars like
this one, which were plentiful at first but have not really graced
the market ever since. Perhaps it is the manageable size and
resultingly lower intrinsic value that made them popular, but
whatever the reason, they do have the same markings and importance
as the bigger bars and should have a similar value. This particular
piece measures about 7" x 3" x 1" and shows most of the assayer-mark
BV (with the ~ above the B and small o above the V not visible) for
Bernardino Vásquez, who was known to be an assayer for Cortés
himself. Below the BV are the full letters RC, which appear to be a
serial or batch number of some sort, as many of the BV bars had an R
followed by a Roman numeral. Below that is the fineness IU9CCCXX
(1820/2400 = 75.8% fine), which was interpreted by Douglas Armstrong
as IUCCCCXX (1420/2400 = 59.2% fine) in his book, but closer
inspection reveals that the first C is actually a symbol that is
best transcribed as a 9 (actually a cursive "e" for 500), hence the
bar is much purer than originally thought. Also visible above and to
the left of the RC marking is part of the circular tax stamp that
bore the emperor's name (CARO)LV(S) around a castle. The other side
of the bar is unmarked, and there is an expected "assayer's bite" on
the bias in one corner. On the whole this bar is somewhat corroded,
but the markings are clear and the pitting is not distracting.
With
Sedwick photo-certificate #M-131. |
$2,500-$3,000 |
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28 |
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Gold "finger" bar #47, 572 grams, 20½K.
Nearly full bar, almost 7½" long and cut at one end (the other end
rounded), 7/8" wide and 5/8" tall, with fineness marked four times
in the form of "X•X" in one box and "•" in another (each X being ten
and each • being ¼, hence 20½K), the X's of a curved type that
matches those on the two bars found on the 1554-fleet wrecks off
Padre Island, TX. About one-third of the surface of the bar is
covered in white coral encrustation (very attractive and desirable
to show provenance), with coral also covering the cut end, some red
and and black staining but not distracting.
With
Sedwick certificate. |
$16,000-$18,000 |
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29 |
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Gold "finger" bar #23, 537 grams, 20¼K.
Long, cut bar, just over 6" in length, 7/8" wide and ½" tall, with
one end cut (chiseled slightly but mostly broken off, with coral all
in the crevices, the other end rounded), marked three times with
fineness as "XX" in one box and "•" in a separate box, same curved
X's as above that match the 1554-fleet bars, only small bits of
coral here and there but enough to show the origin, very neat and
attractive.
With
Sedwick certificate. |
$15,000-$17,000 |
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30 |
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Silver bar #6, 2495 grams, fineness 2230?/2400 ( = 92.9%).
Cut in its time from a much larger and possibly earlier bar, this
rectangular piece measures about 5½" x 2¾" x 1½", with both of the
long sides chiseled about 1/3 and broken from there. Both sides of
the bar show the meandering ciphers of the fineness, which is not
100% clear but appears to be IIU CC XXX (2230/2400 = 92.9%), and on
one side there is also the circular depression of a tax stamp, which
again is not clear but should show a crowned C, with a smaller
rectangular box (indecipherable) next to it that may be an assayer
or foundry mark. Typically, this bar is moderately pitted from
corrosion, obscuring the markings, but you can see from the weight
that it is quite solid and substantial. A bias-cut "assayer's bite"
in one corner is still recognizable. This piece stands in contrast
to most from this wreck, which yielded primarily thin, round
"splashes."
With
Sedwick certificate. |
$1,500-$2,000 |
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"Fort
San Sebastian shipwreck," sunk ca. 1560 off Ilha da Moçambique, east
of Africa |
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31 |
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Gold disc #919, 494 grams.
Perfectly round, 2" in diameter and 5/8" thick, with bits of dark
encrustation all over and one cavity with a hard calcium deposit, a
very solid and substantial "plug" that had significant value even in
its own time. |
$20,000-$21,000 |
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32 |
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Gold disc #906, 406 grams.
Another thick and substantial slug like the above, but curiously
nine-sided, just under 2" in diameter and varying between ½" and
5/8" thick, with a strangely ear-shaped depression on one side (from
a bubble in the metal) and very little encrustation. |
$17,000-$19,000 |
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33 |
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Gold bar #863, 52 grams.
About 1-7/8" long, ½" wide, and 5/16" thick, with rounded ends (like
a miniature cigar). |
$2,500-$3,000 |
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34 |
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Gold bar #996, 22 grams.
About 1" long, 7/16" wide, and ¼" thick, with rounded ends. |
$950-$1,150 |
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35 |
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Gold "drop" #992, 18 grams.
About 13/16" x 5/8" x 3/16", flat and oval-shaped. |
$750-$900 |
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36 |
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Gold "drop" #989, 20 grams.
About 1-1/16" x 15/16" x 1/8", very flat and roundish. |
$800-$950 |
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37 |
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Gold "drop" #1276, 16 grams.
About 7/8" x ¾" x ¼", very flat and roundish, with coral
encrustation. |
$600-$800 |
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38 |
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Gold "drop" #990, 15 grams.
About 13/16" x 5/8" x 3/16", flat and roundish. |
$600-$800 |
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39 |
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Gold "drop" #1037, 14 grams.
About ¾" x 11/16" x 3/16", lumpy on one side, otherwise flat and
round. |
$500-$750 |
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40 |
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Gold "drop" #910, 13 grams.
About ¾" x 7/16" x ¼", very lumpy and nugget-like. |
$500-$750 |
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41 |
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Gold "drop" #986, 11 grams.
Like a flattened ball, about 9/16" in diameter and 5/16" thick, with
some coral encrustation. |
$400-$600 |
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42 |
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Gold "drop" #1036, 11 grams.
About 11/16" x 9/16" x 1/8", flat and somewhat heart-shaped. |
$400-$600 |
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Gold piece #1015, 9 grams.
About 7/8" x 3/8" x 3/16", long and nugget-like. |
$400-$600 |
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44 |
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Natural gold nugget #1006, 10 grams.
Roughly 1" x ¾" x 3/8", very crystalline and with quartz throughout. |
$400-$600 |
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45 |
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Gold "drop" #983, 7 grams.
About 11/16" x ½" x 1/8", very flat and roundish. |
$300-$500 |
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46 |
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Gold "drop" #1270, 7 grams.
Basically a hemisphere of 3/16" radius with lots of black
encrustation on the round side. |
$300-$500 |
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47 |
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Gold "drop" #987, 7 grams.
About 9/16" x ½" x 1/8", flat and roundish. |
$300-$500 |
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48 |
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Gold "drop" #981, 6 grams.
About 9/16" x 3/8" x 3/16", oval-shaped and rounded, with light film
of grayish encrustation. |
$300-$500 |
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1715
fleet, east coast of Florida |
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49 |
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Huge, complete bar, 85.6 troy ounces, marked XX (20 karat, but looks
higher), with various stampings of crowned lions, crowned castles,
owner/foundry TF/R/ELLO.
Largest gold bar ever found on the 1715 fleet! This mammoth
ingot is truly a joy to behold, not only for its incomparable mass
but also for the veritable tattooing of official markings on its
topside, which earned it a place in our own Practical Book of
Cobs (2nd and 3rd editions, 1990 and 1995) as well as a full
page in the book Spanish Treasure Bars by Craig and Richards
(2003). Measuring 6-5/8" x 1-15/16" x 7/8", this bar is marked XX
(20 karat, but looks higher), with plenty of markings all over it,
including crowned lions, crowned castles, and a monogram for the
owner or foundry TF/R/ELLO. (This last marking has also been read as
“TRILO,” presumably a contraction of the name of the city Trujillo,
but we see definite F, R, and E elements in the second cypher that
could make it a monogram for the name F(rancisco) Tello, a
documented mint worker who helped set up the unauthorized 1659-1660
minting at Lima, Peru.) There are also two parallel slashes (//)
that Craig and Richards speculate was some kind of field test. A
cylindrical “assayer’s bite” in one corner is where the assayer who
stamped the fineness on the bar took his sample for testing (and to
retain as his fee). Several auctions have laid claim to the largest
gold bar ever offered from the Fleet (Bowers & Ruddy [1977], 5 lb.
2¼ oz.; Schulman [1972], 5 lb. 4 oz.), which our bar (at over 7 lb.)
obviously exceeds, but the fact is that some contraband disks found
on the Douglas Beach site are actually heavier. Still our bar can
safely be called the largest marked bar, and also the largest
bar (as opposed to disk).
Probably from the "Corrigans" site, with Sedwick photo-certificate
and letter of provenance quoting Louis Ullian, original Real Eight
member. |
$60,000-$75,000 |
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50 |
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Half-cut disk, 749.5 grams, estimated fineness 20K.
A heavy (over 2 troy pounds!) hunk of gold with no markings (hence
probably contraband) but of high-grade color, an exact semi-circle
cut of a 1¾"-radius disk, ¾" thick in center, lightly scored on the
rounded side and broken from there (lots of coral and ocean sediment
inside the crevices of the break), with a stress crack on the flat
top, the bottom smooth, and high intrinsic value (about $13,665 with
gold at $680/oz.).
From
the "Corrigans" site. |
$20,000-$22,000 |
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51 |
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Rectangular corner-cut bar, 230 grams, estimated fineness 17K.
This partially marked ingot measures roughly 1¾" x 1" x 5/8", with
two sides broken from a larger bar and the other two sides smooth
and sloped (outside edges of the original bar), the breaks filled
with ocean sediment and coral, and the wide top of the bar showing
an indecipherable marking with dots and boxes (possibly a fineness
marking), our given estimation of fineness by color.
From
the "Corrigans" site. |
$6,000-$7,500 |
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1733
fleet, Florida Keys |
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52 |
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Silver contraband ingot cut into 3 big pieces (for assaying), 96.25%
silver, weights of 2028 grams, 801.5 grams, and 283.5 grams (total
of 3113 grams, or about 100 troy ounces).
While it surely was a shame for the salvager to have cut this ingot
into three pieces, at least this way you can see that it is silver
all the way through, and also the cutting resulted in an assay that
proves the fineness is 96.25%. Best we can tell, this ingot was a
very large round patty, or maybe half of one, as it appears that
part of it was cut before it was lost, as evidenced by the shape
within its very thick shell of orange and gray debris and
encrustation (possibly hiding some markings, but we doubt that),
which extends up to 2½" from the surface of the ingot. Overall the
original ingot appears to have been about 7" in diameter and about
3½" tall; the pieces now are about 6" x 4" x 3½", 4" x 3½" x 3½",
and 3" x 2" x 2½". Sold as a lot of three pieces only.
From
the
Capitana El Rubí site, with assay certificate from Metallurgical,
Inc. (Hollywood, FL) from 2004. |
$2,500-$3,500 |
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53 |
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Silver contraband disk, estimated at 96.25% silver, 1036.5 grams
(about about 33-1/3 troy ounces).
A round patty, about 4" in diameter and 1" tall, with lots and lots
of bubble holes all over (looks like the cratered surface of the
moon!), no markings but neatly formed, presumably the same fineness
as the large ingot above since they were found together,
attractively dark silver in color with some scuffing on the flat
side (probably to show the bright silver inside), no encrustation.
From
the
Capitana El Rubí site. |
$1,000-$1,500 |
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54 |
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Silver contraband ingot, oval-shaped, completely encased in
encrustation, estimated at 96.25% silver (see above), 755 grams
(about 24¼ troy ounces).
Who knows what you will find inside the shell of encrustation that
complete coats this lemon-shaped ingot?! Our guess is that it will
be yet another contraband ingot like the above (same presumed
fineness), and we guarantee it is silver, but there could be
markings or some other value-adder. Then again, we feel it would be
a shame to remove what took centuries to accumulate on the surface
of this piece— a veritable cocoon of oxidation and tiny bits of
shell and rock. Measurements are about 4½" x 3" x 1", very solid and
stable.
From
the
Capitana El Rubí site. |
$750-$1,250 |
