Crystal Ship Coins
#636 Mexico City, Mexico, bust 8 reales, Charles III 1772MF initials facing rim
#636 Mexico City, Mexico, bust 8 reales, Charles III 1772MF initials facing rim
Regular price
$260.00 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$260.00 USD
Unit price
per
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Details:
- F/VF details with light surface corrosion and moderate rim loss
- Nicely toned
- Scarce early type
- Pedigreed to the Charles Eidel collection, with original certificates from the salvagers
- 21.69 grams
- Recovered from: Hartwell, sunk in 1787 off the Cape Verde Islands, west of Africa
On her maiden voyage to China, the British East Indiaman Hartwell was heavily laden with silver when mutiny broke out on board. After quelling the fight, the captain headed to the Cape Verde Islands to offload the mutineers. Exhausted from the mutiny, the weary sailors ran the ship into a reef off the Island of Boa vista, losing the ship entirely. Fortunately, all hands were saved.
Salvage by the British East India Company from 1788 to 1791 yielded nearly half of the approximately 200,000 ounces of silver cargo on board the Hartwell. Pirates at the time recovered another 40,000 coins.
The wrecksite was found again and salvaged by Afrimar in 1994-1996 and Arqueonautas in 1996-1999, providing the market with Spanish colonial bust-type 8 reales in generally poor condition.
