This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/31/2005.
The Spanish galleon "Nuestra Senora de Atocha" sunk off the Florida Keys in 1622 after striking a reef in a hurricane. Further, what is known as the "1715 Fleet" was a Spanish convoy of twelve ships bound for Spain from Havana, 11 of which sank in a hurricane off the Florida coast in 1715. In 1985 and the 1960s, respectively, both of these wrecks were "discovered" and their treasure recovered. Included here are two coins from the wrecks, both measured in the value of "eight reales" or, as they are more commonly known, "pieces of eight." They weigh 26.8 grams and 27.2 grams of pure silver, and are in Fine condition. These types of coins, which were struck through 1825, continued to be legal tender in the United States until 1857, and circulated freely in the coastal cities of China until the 1930s.