Spanish Colonial 1/2 Reale Silver Shipwreck Coin from the El Cazador

Please see the photos for details.

The El Cazador (meaning The Hunter in English) was a Spanish brig that sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 1784. On October 20, 1783, it was sent by Charles III of Spain on a mission to bring much-needed hard currency to the Spanish colony of Louisiana. The ship sailed to Veracruz, Mexico, where it was loaded with approximately 450,000 Spanish reales. King Carlos III enlisted his most trusted captain, Gabriel de Campos y Pineda, to captain the ship. On January 11, 1784, it sailed for New Orleans and was never heard from again. Spain's attempts to locate the ship were unsuccessful and in June 1784, El Cazador was officially listed as missing at sea.

Then, on August 2, 1993, the trawler Mistake, while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico fifty miles south of New Orleans, hung its net on a snag. The trawler was captained by Jerry Murphy and its home port was Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the crew hoisted the net and dumped the contents on the deck, they found the net was filled with silver coins. The coins bore markings from the Spanish mint in Mexico, along with the date 1783.

Due to the uniqueness of each item, please refer to the photos provided in this auction. We offer high resolution images of each item rather than a written description of condition.

This item is being shipped from the Pristine Auction warehouse.