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SPAIN. 8 Reales, 1731-S PA. Seville Mint. Philip V. NGC EF-Details SEA SALVAGED from Reijersdaal.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Shipwreck - Silver Coins 1750s-1900s Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,200.00 USD
SPAIN. 8 Reales, 1731-S PA. Seville Mint. Philip V. NGC EF-Details SEA SALVAGED from Reijersdaal.
SOLD
1,050.00USD+ (210.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Sep 07 @ 16:13UTC-7 : PDT/MST
All items to be posted soon.
KM-357; Cal-Type-184 #1620. Recognized more widely as Reygersdahl in the United States, this typical East Indiaman vessel met its tragic demise on October 25, 1747, between Robben and Dassen Islands, while transporting eight chests containing nearly 30,000 silver coins. Following an arduous four-and-a-half-month voyage, during which over 125 crew members succumbed to the elements and 83 were afflicted by illness among a total of 297 individuals, the ship sought sanctuary near Dassen Island to procure provisions and alleviate the rampant malaise. However, a fierce gale severed the anchor-line, precipitating a collision with rocky terrain and eventual foundering. Among the crew, a mere 20 survived the catastrophe, managing to salvage only an incomplete chest of coins. Immediate recovery efforts were deemed unviable due to perilous conditions.

Commencing in 1979, contemporary salvage-divers undertook the wrecksite exploration, successfully retrieving numerous coins, potentially numbering as high as 15,000 by the early 1980s, prompting the institution of protective legislation in South Africa. This cache of coins, predominantly comprising well-preserved Mexican pillar dollars, alongside a scarce assortment of several hundred New World silver cobs, including the elusive Guatemala cobs, has since been disseminated through auction proceedings and discreet private transactions, thereby perpetuating the historical narrative encompassing the Reijersdaal shipwreck.