Hoard of 39 * Silver Spanish American 8 Reales Recovered from the Rapid Shipwreck (Sunk 1811)
| We Last Sold This Item For: | $14,250.00 |
|---|---|
| Last Sold On: | 16/9/2023 |
| # Sold In Past 12 Months: | 1 |
Bulk Accumulation of 39 * Spanish American 8 Reales Recovered from the Rapid Shipwreck (Sunk 1811)
The dates of the coins in this hoard are dated between 1791 and 1805
Each coin features the following designs:
Obverse: Laureate bust of King Charles IIII to right, date below and legend around
Reverse: Coronate shield between pillars, legend around
Each of the coins in this hoard has been authenticated as a genuine relic from the Rapid shipwreck,
and has been allocated a Commonwealth artefact number.
This incredible hoard of Spanish American silver dollars is unprecedented.
The Rapid was an early 19th-century American vessel that wrecked on Ningaloo Reef (NW WA coast) in 1811.
It was bound for Canton (Guangzhou) in China, and had a cargo of 280,000 Spanish silver dollars when it sank.
Not only was this an incredible sum of money in those days (the weight of this silver was just shy of 8 tonnes), the survival story of the men on the Rapid is one of hardship and endurance.
In addition to that, the discovery of the wreck in 1978 has been described as being "one of the most incredible finds in Australian maritime history."
We understand from the previous owner that in around 1979, these coins were received as payment for services rendered to one of the discoverers of the wreck, and that they sat untouched in a canvas bag under a laundry sink in Perth for many decades after that.
Although the Dutch shipwrecks the Batavia, the Gilt Dragon and the Zuytdorp are reasonably well known, the coins from the wreck of the Rapid are far rarer than all of them.
We've been dealing in shipwreck coins for close to 3 decades now, and can say that this hoard of Spanish American 8 reales is completely unprecedented in private hands - we've never seen anything like this quantity ever before!
If you're not familiar with the wreck of the Rapid, do yourself a favour and click through to our article that covers the story of the outbound journey; the wreck; the discovery and the recovery. Each of those episodes is a story in and of itself, and as a whole, this group of coins tells an incredible tale of risk, wealth, adventure and misfortune.
Each coin has been certified by the Australian Commonwealth Government as a genuine relic of the Rapid shipwreck.
We'll include with these coins:
- A hand-selected storage box that the coins can be kept in;
- A copy of the book "Shipwreck at Madman's Corner" written by Mike Lefroy that covers the background to this historic wreck;
- A folder that includes high-resolution images and the specifications for each coin.
This is a once in a lifetime memento that will be great to put away for future generations.
Individually, these coins could retail for much more than the price we're asking for this hoard.
If you'd like more details on the exact coins included (dates; designs and technical specifications), please contact us via phone, email or online message for more details.
SKU: 212961
Browse our catalog of Shipwreck Coins below:
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