Bolivia 8 Reales 1598-1603 "Atocha Research Collection" PCGS VF
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From the famed "1988 ATOCHA RESEARCH COLLECTION ~ Coin #173 / 237."
GRADE 1 with Hand signed and filled out Appraisal by Duncan Mathewson III, Marine Archeologist for Mel Fisher and the ATOCHA from 17 years ago. Pedigree to bucket 2 on the COA.
The ATOCHA RESEARCH COLLECTION contained 237 highly selective pieces. This particular piece features the X's boarder style (sometimes squares) as opposed to the traditional dots in circumference.
Crown and Catastrophe: Atocha Shipwreck Cob 8 Reales, Philip III, Potosí Mint – With Original Fisher Tag and Certificate (85A-205889)
Weight: 17.14 grams | Mint: Potosí, Bolivia | Date: Circa early 1600s | Assayer: Illegible | KM-10
Recovered from the Legendary Atocha (Sunk 1622, off Key West)
This coin was pulled from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the flagship of Spain’s 1622 Treasure Fleet. The Atocha was a floating vault, crammed with silver, gold, emeralds, indigo, copper, and contraband, all ripped from the New World’s colonial depths. On September 6, 1622, the ship met its fate in a vicious hurricane off the Florida Keys—sending 265 people and millions in treasure to the ocean floor. Only five survived.
The Atocha’s cargo lay untouched for 363 years, until treasure hunter Mel Fisher’s dogged 16-year search paid off in 1985, when he and his team located the main wreck. The find was valued at over $400 million—the richest shipwreck recovery in world history.
This piece is Fisher-tagged and certified (85A-205889)—part of that original discovery and a direct survivor of one of maritime history’s most dramatic tragedies.
From the Heart of Empire: The Potosí Mint
Struck at Potosí, the colonial mint fueled by the infamous Cerro Rico ("Rich Hill"), this cob represents one of the most significant economic engines of the early modern world. By the early 1600s, Potosí was minting over half the world’s silver. Indigenous and enslaved laborers toiled in brutal conditions to extract and refine this wealth, only for much of it to vanish into the coffers—and battlefields—of imperial Spain.
This cob 8 reales displays a bold, full Jerusalem cross with clear lions and castles, only slightly doubled, and a partially corroded shield reverse—a haunting reminder of its long submersion. Grade 3 coins like this one capture the raw drama of shipwreck preservation: seawater etching, coin-on-coin contact, and the erosion of time itself.
The King Behind the Coin: Philip III of Spain (r. 1598–1621)
When this coin was struck, Philip III reigned over the largest empire the world had ever seen. Yet his reign marked the first signs of Spain’s imperial decline. A devout Catholic and a deeply passive monarch, Philip III outsourced most of his authority to his valido (royal favorite), the Duke of Lerma, whose corrupt administration was marked by lavish spending and political favoritism.
Despite internal decay, Spain under Philip III remained a global juggernaut—controlling territory across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. The silver from Potosí, transported aboard ships like the Atocha, financed European wars, subsidized the Habsburg dynasty, and propped up Spain’s faltering grip on global hegemony.
Ironically, the very riches that made Spain mighty also made it vulnerable. The empire’s dependence on New World bullion created an unsustainable economic model: flooding the Spanish economy with silver but failing to develop domestic industry. The result? Inflation, instability, and dependence on treasure fleets like the one that never made it home in 1622.
Click Here to read more about the 'Atocha 1622 Shipwreck'
GRADE 1 with Hand signed and filled out Appraisal by Duncan Mathewson III, Marine Archeologist for Mel Fisher and the ATOCHA from 17 years ago. Pedigree to bucket 2 on the COA.
The ATOCHA RESEARCH COLLECTION contained 237 highly selective pieces. This particular piece features the X's boarder style (sometimes squares) as opposed to the traditional dots in circumference.
Crown and Catastrophe: Atocha Shipwreck Cob 8 Reales, Philip III, Potosí Mint – With Original Fisher Tag and Certificate (85A-205889)
Weight: 17.14 grams | Mint: Potosí, Bolivia | Date: Circa early 1600s | Assayer: Illegible | KM-10
Recovered from the Legendary Atocha (Sunk 1622, off Key West)
This coin was pulled from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the flagship of Spain’s 1622 Treasure Fleet. The Atocha was a floating vault, crammed with silver, gold, emeralds, indigo, copper, and contraband, all ripped from the New World’s colonial depths. On September 6, 1622, the ship met its fate in a vicious hurricane off the Florida Keys—sending 265 people and millions in treasure to the ocean floor. Only five survived.
The Atocha’s cargo lay untouched for 363 years, until treasure hunter Mel Fisher’s dogged 16-year search paid off in 1985, when he and his team located the main wreck. The find was valued at over $400 million—the richest shipwreck recovery in world history.
This piece is Fisher-tagged and certified (85A-205889)—part of that original discovery and a direct survivor of one of maritime history’s most dramatic tragedies.
From the Heart of Empire: The Potosí Mint
Struck at Potosí, the colonial mint fueled by the infamous Cerro Rico ("Rich Hill"), this cob represents one of the most significant economic engines of the early modern world. By the early 1600s, Potosí was minting over half the world’s silver. Indigenous and enslaved laborers toiled in brutal conditions to extract and refine this wealth, only for much of it to vanish into the coffers—and battlefields—of imperial Spain.
This cob 8 reales displays a bold, full Jerusalem cross with clear lions and castles, only slightly doubled, and a partially corroded shield reverse—a haunting reminder of its long submersion. Grade 3 coins like this one capture the raw drama of shipwreck preservation: seawater etching, coin-on-coin contact, and the erosion of time itself.
The King Behind the Coin: Philip III of Spain (r. 1598–1621)
When this coin was struck, Philip III reigned over the largest empire the world had ever seen. Yet his reign marked the first signs of Spain’s imperial decline. A devout Catholic and a deeply passive monarch, Philip III outsourced most of his authority to his valido (royal favorite), the Duke of Lerma, whose corrupt administration was marked by lavish spending and political favoritism.
Despite internal decay, Spain under Philip III remained a global juggernaut—controlling territory across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. The silver from Potosí, transported aboard ships like the Atocha, financed European wars, subsidized the Habsburg dynasty, and propped up Spain’s faltering grip on global hegemony.
Ironically, the very riches that made Spain mighty also made it vulnerable. The empire’s dependence on New World bullion created an unsustainable economic model: flooding the Spanish economy with silver but failing to develop domestic industry. The result? Inflation, instability, and dependence on treasure fleets like the one that never made it home in 1622.
Click Here to read more about the 'Atocha 1622 Shipwreck'
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