1682 JOANNA SHIPWRECK MEXICO 8 REALES COB SPANISH DOLLAR COLONIAL SILVER COIN

Description

MEXICO 8 REALES
1682 JOANNA SHIPWRECK
COB 8R SPANISH COLONIAL SILVER COIN
An English East Indiaman on her way to Surat on the west coast of India, the
Joanna
separated from her convoy and sank in rough seas on a reef off the southernmost tip of SouthAfrica on June 8, 1682, sending 10 people to their death. Eventually 104survivors reached the Dutch colony of Cape Town, from which a salvage party was soon dispatched. The
Joanna
’s cargo consisted of 70 chests of silvercoins, of which the salvage party reported having recovered only about 28,000guilders’ worth. In 1982 the wreck was rediscovered by a group of South Africandivers led by Gavin Clackworthy, who brought up silver ingots (discs) and morethan 23,000 silver cobs, most of them Mexican 4 and 8 reales of Charles II ingenerally low grade, but a few showing bold, formerly very rare dates1679-1681. Over the past two decades, these cobs have entered the market from both private dealers and auctions, but always in relatively small quantities at a time. Almost all the coins are in very worn condition, usually thin and nearly featureless, but without the heavy encrustation and pitting that characterize Caribbean finds.
THIS COIN, CALLED COB, WERE MADE FROM SLABS OF SILVER.  WHICH WERE ROLLED INTO
ELONGATED SHAPES OF VARIOUS THICKNESSES SLICES WERE MADE BY METAL  SHEARS OR
CHISELED BY HAND TO ACHIEVE THE PROPER WEIGHT.
THIS PROCESS ACCOUNTS FOR THE IRREGULAR EDGES. THE BLANKS WERE HEATED AND ANNEALED,
THEN HAMMERED BETWEEN CRUDELY
ENGRAVED DIES. THE COINS WERE MINTED IN THE SPANISH AMERICAN COLONIES MADE  WITH
POOR  WORKMANSHIP  AND WITHOUT PROPER
EQUIPMENT OR SUPERVISION.  OFTEN  THE COINS WERE STRUCK BY INDIAN  OR SLAVE LABOR.
THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES WERE UNCONCERNED WITH THE SHAPE OF THE COIN ONLY WITH THE
FINENESS AND WEIGHT, WHICH WAS
GUARANTEED BY THE ASSAYERS MARK.
!!!!!!  HAPPY BIDDING AND GOOD LUCK  !!!!!!