![]() Per Smithsonian Magazine, "In addition to 70 pounds of Colombian emeralds, the ship contained 180,000 silver coins, 24 tons of Bolivian silver, 125 gold bars and a collection of Venezuelan pearls." Other emeralds from the shipwreck were put up for auction in 2017. In the 1960s, diver Mel Fisher and his team uncovered the Santa Margarita shipwreck off the coast of Florida, and in 1985, Fisher and the divers uncovered the main hull of the Atocha-and its remarkable treasure. But it's no ordinary ring-the stone was found by treasure hunters off the coast of Florida, centuries after the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a Spanish treasure galleon, sunk in 1622. So, in a remarkable decision, she is auctioning off her beloved emerald engagement ring, which was given to her by her late husband Frank Perdue. Mitzi Perdue wanted to do something special to help Ukraine. The ingot has an estimate of $30,000 to $60,000.Update: On December 7, Mitzi Perdue's emerald engagement ring was sold at auction at Sotheby's for $1.2 million. To affirm its authenticity, the silver bar is accompanied by the original Fisher photo-certificate, serial No. The bar is accompanied by the rare complete manifest report (which was available but not widely distributed to original purchasers when the bars were first sold). “With minimal surface corrosion all over, and traces of black charcoal in crevices on the sides, this is also one of the heavier bars around,” according to the Sedwick firm. In the center is the typical double-scoop assayer’s “bite.” The silvermaster mark is clear, and the bold ownership and shipper marks are visible, according to the firm. The manifest number (747) is boldly displayed in Roman numerals, as are the fineness marks and three circular tax stamps of Philip IV, two of which are nearly full. The bar measures 14 inches long, 5 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide. The bar was poured in Potosi, in modern-day Bolivia (the center of silver mining in Spanish Colonial lands), and is dated 1622, the year of the wreck. The firm calls it “One of the most beautiful, large Atocha bars we have ever handled,” noting that it ranks among the best known. ![]() 9916 fine silver bar weighs 82 troy pounds and 7.36 ounces. The piece highlighting its November auction is from that hoard. In addition, an estimated 1,000 silver ingots, most the size of bread loaves, were recovered from the Atocha, according to the firm. Full recovery occurred in 1985, when more than 100,000 silver shield-type “cob” silver coins were found, in all full denominations (1-real sizes and up). The treasure of the Atocha would not surface, literally, until starting in 1971, when salvor Mel Fisher brought up the first coins located in the wreckage. 6, about 35 miles west of Key West.ĭuring the storm, 20 of the ships were sent to the depths of the ocean, between the Dry Tortugas and the Florida Keys.įive people survived the wreck of the Atocha and were rescued, but the wreck itself was scattered after another hurricane hit the site one month later.Įfforts to retrieve the treasure began immediately, as Spain sent several vessels to the area, but only half of the treasure from a sister-ship was recovered. The delay would prove fatal, since it ensured that the fleet would sail into the path of a fierce hurricane on Sept. The silver haul from Spanish colonial America for the 1622 fleet was so large that it took a reported two months to count and load, and the fleet ended up leaving six weeks late, on Sept. Payments were often extended over several years.” Spain often compensated investors with New World silver, gold and other commodities that weren’t even mined yet. ![]() Delays in the arrival of gold and silver would have a catastrophic effect on Spain’s line of credit. 7, 2008, issue of Coin World, “Spain had an urgent need for the riches extracted from the New World, since Spain was indebted to international investors. ![]()
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