Shipwreck artifacts, currency, stock certificates, ephemera and obsolete notes at Smythe Coins and artifacts from the 1784 shipwreck of the El Cazador will be featured among the coins, paper currency, stock certificates, ephemera and obsolete notes that will be offered in four auctions
News-Antique.com - Oct 13,2007 - Photo: A "cluster" of shells and Spanish coins that were recovered from the 1784 wreck of the El Cazador.
Manhattan, New York – October 13, 2007 – Everyone at R.M. Smythe & Co., Inc., (http://www.smytheonline.com) is going to have a very busy week starting October 29th 2007 in what can only be described as a frenzied whirlwind of auctions. They will offer a exciting suite of four consecutive sales to include; coins and artifacts from the 1784 shipwreck of the El Cazador on Oct. 30th; paper money & stock certificate on Oct. 31st at 11AM EDT; obsolete notes from the Schingoethe collection on Oct. 31st at 6pm EDT and a mail-bid / live Internet auction of paper and ephemera on November 1st at 11AM EDT. All of the auctions will be held at the R. M. Smythe auction gallery in Manhattan.
The one week, four auction, whirlwind of over 5500 lots includes a historically fascinating mix of items. Among the more noteworthy offerings are artifacts and rare coins recovered from the ship El Cazador (The Hunter). On January 11, 1784 El Cazador left from Vera Cruz for New Orleans, and the then Spanish Louisiana with 450,000 freshly minted coins in its hold. The task was to shore up the local economy by retiring discredited Spanish currency, issued some 20 years earlier. The Ship, her crew, and the treasure she was carrying disappeared without a trace. Smythe & Co. is offering 43 lots recovered from the wreck of the El Cazador in their Oct. 30th auction. Some of the more interesting items include:
Lot# 1616 - 18th Century Spanish Bronze Breech Loaded Cannon. Typical form, 39 1/2” in length. Bourbon arms of Charles III on top of barrel. Breach fired cannon with breech block present. Minor damage to pindle. Nice surfaces with only traces of verdigris. One of only 40 cannons that were reported on the El Cazador. The fact that the breech block is present is simply amazing. Cannon weighs 200+ pounds.
Lot# 1578 -1872 (1782) Mexico NCS 8 Reales, Transposed numbers Error dated 1872-FF (instead of 1782). KM-106.2, Carolus III, Mexico mint. otherwise unlisted. A lower grade specimen sold at CICF ‘06 for $10,350. Extremely Rare.
Lot# 1585 - * Reales. 1783-FF, KM 106.2 Carolus III, Mexico mint. FC-66, EL-93. square letters, and especially sharp reverse some corrosion, reverse tooling, small ancient circular obverse mark, lightly water affected, uneven blue-gray toning, and much lustre. Ch. AU-UNC
Lot# 1604 - Clustered coins “Clump”: Cracked but whole cannonball and “base” in which are embedded several 8 Reales sized coins. 2 parts. 4lbs, 4.5oz.
Sunken treasure is not the only rarity up for auction at Smythe. During the same week, the Oct. 31st sale #274 of Colonial and Historic Documents features 24 lots, including these two noteworthy treasures:
Lot# 2050 - Province of the Massachusetts Bay August 9, 1773. 500 Pounds. 5% Bond due 1775. Ornate border. Embossed seal. Signed by Samuel Adams, Thomas Cushing and James Pitts for Committee. Fold splits
