Mexico: Philip IV "Concepción" Cob 8 Reales ND (1621-1641)-Mo XF (Shipwreck Effect), ...

Description

Philip IV "Concepción" Cob 8 Reales ND (1621-1641)-Mo XF (Shipwreck Effect), Mexico City mint, KM45. 21.08gm. Accompanied by COA and case. Salvaged from the "Concepción" (sunk in 1641 off Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic). With neat canvas bag imprints to the reverse.

The Nuestra Señora de La Pura y Limpia Concepción, part of a Spanish treasure fleet, sank in 1641 after two attempts of transporting immense treasure back to Spain. The ship was already in poor condition when it departed from Havana, Cuba, after a failed attempt the week before where it encountered storms that left the ship badly damaged. Loaded with both New World silver and treasures from the Orient, such as indigo, silks, spices, porcelain, and jade that had been sent on Manila galleons to Acapulco on the Pacific side of New Spain (present day Mexico), the Concepcion set sail once again bound to Spain. After encountering a powerful hurricane, the ship drifted for weeks, until running on the reefs of Hispañola, the present day Dominican Republic. Rumors of a vast Spanish treasure lost on a remote reef circulated throughout the Caribbean and made its way to the English colonies in the Americas. In 1687, Captain William Phipps, who would later become the governor of Massachusetts, discovered and salvaged part of Concepcion's treasure. The shipwreck was re-discovered in 1978, with thousands of coins recovered and incredible artifacts that made their way to the Dominican Republic National Museums Casas Reales and Faro Colon in Santo Domingo.

Metal: Silver

More information about Mexican Coins. See also: Mexico World Coin Nationality.