Bolivia 8 Reales 1598-1621 "Santa Margarita 1622 Shipwreck" RAW
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Philip III "Santa Margarita" 8 Reales ND (1598–1621), XF, Potosí Mint, KM10, 20.13g, Grade III
Recovered from the fabled wreck of the Santa Margarita
Includes original Treasure Salvors tag and photo-certificate (#9095)
This extraordinary 8 Reales cob was struck during the reign of King Philip III of Spain, a monarch whose rule (1598–1621) oversaw the height of Spanish imperial power but also the growing weight of bureaucratic and economic strain. Though his reign was marked by peace abroad, domestically the Spanish empire began its long financial descent—a backdrop that made the inflow of New World treasure, like that carried aboard the Santa Margarita, all the more vital.
This silver cob, with its distinct "shipwreck effect" patina and signs of submersion, was salvaged from the infamous wreck of the Santa Margarita—one of the richest treasure galleons of the doomed 1622 Spanish fleet.
In September of that year, the Santa Margarita sailed from Havana alongside the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, loaded with a staggering fortune in New World silver, gold, and gems bound for the coffers of Spain. But disaster struck just days into their voyage: a powerful hurricane slammed into the fleet near the Florida Keys, sinking several ships and scattering their cargo across the ocean floor. The Santa Margarita, like her sister ship the Atocha, went down off the coast of present-day Key West, taking with her not only royal treasure but also smuggled wealth, private heirlooms, and sacred objects.
Efforts by the Spanish to recover the treasure in the 17th century were valiant but largely futile, relying on enslaved African and indigenous divers with rudimentary equipment. The wreck’s location remained a mystery for over 350 years until modern treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his dedicated team located it in the early 1980s. The recovery revealed a trove of Spanish colonial opulence—gold bars, silver coins like this 8 Reales, and breathtaking items of jewelry including emerald-encrusted crosses and gold chains that had been intended for the Spanish elite.
While the Atocha's "motherlode" would not be discovered until 1985, the Santa Margarita's treasure was scattered across a wider area, making it more elusive and more romantic in legend. Each piece recovered tells a story—not only of a lost ship but of a global empire fueled by the perilous flow of American silver.
Today, this cob stands as a tangible fragment of that grand, tragic voyage. A piece of maritime history, born in the colonial mint of Potosí and destined for the hands of European nobility—intercepted forever by the sea.X
Click Here to read more about the 'Atocha 1622 Shipwreck'
Recovered from the fabled wreck of the Santa Margarita
Includes original Treasure Salvors tag and photo-certificate (#9095)
This extraordinary 8 Reales cob was struck during the reign of King Philip III of Spain, a monarch whose rule (1598–1621) oversaw the height of Spanish imperial power but also the growing weight of bureaucratic and economic strain. Though his reign was marked by peace abroad, domestically the Spanish empire began its long financial descent—a backdrop that made the inflow of New World treasure, like that carried aboard the Santa Margarita, all the more vital.
This silver cob, with its distinct "shipwreck effect" patina and signs of submersion, was salvaged from the infamous wreck of the Santa Margarita—one of the richest treasure galleons of the doomed 1622 Spanish fleet.
In September of that year, the Santa Margarita sailed from Havana alongside the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, loaded with a staggering fortune in New World silver, gold, and gems bound for the coffers of Spain. But disaster struck just days into their voyage: a powerful hurricane slammed into the fleet near the Florida Keys, sinking several ships and scattering their cargo across the ocean floor. The Santa Margarita, like her sister ship the Atocha, went down off the coast of present-day Key West, taking with her not only royal treasure but also smuggled wealth, private heirlooms, and sacred objects.
Efforts by the Spanish to recover the treasure in the 17th century were valiant but largely futile, relying on enslaved African and indigenous divers with rudimentary equipment. The wreck’s location remained a mystery for over 350 years until modern treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his dedicated team located it in the early 1980s. The recovery revealed a trove of Spanish colonial opulence—gold bars, silver coins like this 8 Reales, and breathtaking items of jewelry including emerald-encrusted crosses and gold chains that had been intended for the Spanish elite.
While the Atocha's "motherlode" would not be discovered until 1985, the Santa Margarita's treasure was scattered across a wider area, making it more elusive and more romantic in legend. Each piece recovered tells a story—not only of a lost ship but of a global empire fueled by the perilous flow of American silver.
Today, this cob stands as a tangible fragment of that grand, tragic voyage. A piece of maritime history, born in the colonial mint of Potosí and destined for the hands of European nobility—intercepted forever by the sea.X
Click Here to read more about the 'Atocha 1622 Shipwreck'
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