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Atocha Silver Bars
The
Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, struck a reef and sank near
the Florida Keys on
September 6, 1622, during a raging hurricane.
Mel Fisher and his company Treasure Salvors, Inc., discovered the main
wreck site on July 20, 1985 and ultimately recovered a huge amount of treasure.
Approximately one thousand silver bars weighing between
sixty and seventy pounds were listed on the Atocha's manifest when it sank. The majority of the ingots were
the property of individuals, although one hundred thirty-three bars,
shipped in thirty-four boxes and marked with a red crown belonged to King
Philip IV himself. Many Atocha silver bars were mined and processed in Potosi, now in present
day Bolivia, and hauled great distances to Portobello, a Caribbean port in
what is now the Republic of Panama. The cargo was then loaded onto the
Atocha; each item registered as it was brought aboard. During processing,
each bar was struck with a serial number and various monograms indicating
the owner or shipper. The mint's assayer would then remove his
"bite", a small piece that was tested to determine the purity of
silver. Once purity was established, the ingot was struck with the "Ley"
or fineness number, typically 2380 out of a possible 2400 or 99.2% pure.
All bars not belonging to the king were also struck with one or more tax
stamps indicating the 20% royal tax "Quinto" was collected. Some
bars were dated. Each bar was graded and assigned a
class factor rating ranging from .5 to 1.0. The very best bars
received a 1.0 rating and are characterized as being listed on the ships
manifest and having a clear fineness mark, talley number, and at least a
partial date. Class factor .9 bars are similar, but usually lack a
date or have weaker markings. 0.8 bars are weaker yet, are almost
always undated, but can still be traced to the manifest. 0.7
bars have at least two marks, but not of sufficient quality to trace the
bar to the ships manifest. 0.6 bars have only light traces of
marks and .5 bars have no marks at all. Original certificates
of authenticity accompany all Atocha bars.
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Certificate of Authenticity |
Item#: S 39
TSI#: 85A-S39
Tag#: 2198
Manifest#: 928
Class Factor: 1.0
Karats: 2380
Weight: 77 troy lbs 4.64 oz
Size: 36.3x12.4x8.0 cm
Owner: L. de Arriola
Shipper: L. de Arriola
Price:
SOLD |
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Atocha Bar - Top View |
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Atocha Bar - Side View |
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This is an exceptional class factor 1.0 bar with rare
markings found on only 5 of the approximately 1000 recovered
Atocha bars: left
top - "QVARTAS" - rare mark found only on
5 bars owned by Arriola (this being the nicest),
below QVARTAS mark - "monogrammed ARL with diamond above"-
L. de Arriola owners mark, the same one used on the example bar
image found on every certificate of authenticity,
bracketing ARL owners mark - "large V" - found only
on the 5 known QVARTAS bars,
right of the large V
- "1622" - the
date the bar was founded at the Potosi mint, and most
importantly, the only QVARTAS bar listed in the book as having a
visible date, top center - "DCCCCXXVIII" - tally
number (the 928th bar founded at the Potosi mint during the year
of 1622), middle
center below DCCCCXXVIII - "double-scoop assayers bite" -
this style is only found on bars founded in Potosi,
bottom center - "IIUCCCLXXX" -
silver fineness (2380 out of 2400 or 99.2% pure), top
right - "V" - the
Atocha's silvermaster mark (Jacove de Vreder). In addition to these markings, this bar has
two tax stamps and some unknown markings located near the bottom right
edge. This bar is listed as number
39 in the book of "Spanish Treasure Bars from New World
Shipwrecks". The bar is
accompanied by the original Certificate of Authenticity
issued by Mel Fisher's company, Treasure Salvors Inc., as shown
above.
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Certificate of Authenticity |
Item#: S 576
TSI#: 85A-S576
Tag#: 0442
Manifest#: 4344
Class Factor: 1.0
Karats: 2380
Weight: 80 troy lbs 3.84 oz
Size: 34.1x13.0x8.0 cm
Owner: L. de Arriola
Shipper: L. de Arriola
Price:
SOLD
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Click on picture to enlarge
Atocha Bar - Top View |
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This is an excellent class factor 1.0 bar with nice strong markings as follows: left
edge - "staff topped with a star" - undocumented
owners mark similar to that used by J. Nunez and found only on
bars owned by Arriola, left
bottom - "monogrammed ARL with diamond above"-
L. de Arriola owners mark, the same one used on the example bar
image found on every certificate of authenticity,
right of the diamond - "1621" - the
date the bar was founded at the Potosi mint, top center - "IIIIUCCCXLIIII" - tally
number (the 4344th bar founded at the Potosi mint during the year
of 1621), middle
center below IIIIUCCXLIII - "double-scoop assayers bite" -
this style is only found on bars founded in Potosi,
bottom center - "IIUCCCLXXX" -
silver fineness (2380 out of 2400 or 99.2% pure), bottom
right - "V" - the
Atocha's silvermaster mark (Jacove de Vreder). In addition to these markings, this bar has
two tax stamps. This bar is listed as number
576 in the book of "Spanish Treasure Bars from New World
Shipwrecks". The bar is
accompanied by the original Certificate of Authenticity
issued by Mel Fisher's company, Treasure Salvors Inc., shown
above.
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