El Cazador Shipwreck, Spanish Silver 1/2 Real - 1784 - Spanish Empire - 8/23/23 Auction

Includes glass top display box. This Spanish silver 1/2 real coin, hailing from the era of King Charles III who ruled from 1759 to 1788, bears testimony to a maritime mystery that remained unsolved for over two centuries. Salvaged from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico, the coin was aboard the ill-fated Spanish brigantine, El Cazador, when it vanished without a trace in 1784. The coin exhibits heavy damage from centuries of exposure to salt water. Many of the coins recovered from El Cazador were so heavily corroded that they fused together, and had to be painstakingly separated and cleaned.Tasked with the crucial mission of transporting much-needed silver to Louisiana, El Cazador's successful voyage was anticipated to rejuvenate the faltering economy of the Spanish-controlled territory. The colony had been on the brink of economic collapse due to the devaluation of paper money. The arrival of silver coinage was intended to stabilize the region's economy. However, fate took a different