Lot 2145

Description

Spanish 'Piece of Eight', Ferdinand VII, eight reales, 1809 TH (mint mark not legible due to oxidation), fitted into a silver frame with suspension ring and attached is a silver neck chain (approx 48cm). In a Limited Release Pieces of Eight case, oxidation, otherwise good.

With certificate for Coin No. 208. Certificate reads, 'This coin is the fabled "Piece of Eight". It was recovered by divers from an old shipwreck on a coral reef in the Mozambique Channel in December 1977. The coins were found embedded in coral among the cannons and other metal debris from a large, unidentified wooden ship. Although nothing remains to conclusively identify the ship, six of the eighteen cannons found were of English manufacture. It is believed that the ship was wrecked between 1817 and 1820. Of the 321 coins found in good legible condition, 300 have been made available in this special Limited Edition release, of which this coin is Number 208. 1,891 pieces of eroded and damaged silver from the wreck were melted down to form the 300 chains and holders for this Limited Edition.