Bolivia 8 Reales 1603-1612 "Santa Margarita 1622 Shipwreck" RAW
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Philip III "Santa Margarita" Cob 8 Reales, ND (1603–1612), Potosi Mint — Shipwreck Artifact from the 1622 Spanish Treasure Fleet
Weight: 11.51g | Grade: III | Condition: XF (Shipwreck Effect)
Reference: KM10, Cal-911 | Provenance: Recovered from the wreck of the Santa Margarita
Includes: Original Treasure Salvors tag and photo certificate #11,256
Struck at the fabled Potosi mint in the early 17th century, this silver 8 reales coin hails from the reign of King Philip III of Spain—a monarch whose rule marked a turning point in the Spanish Empire’s trajectory. Although born into the height of Habsburg power, Philip III's reign (1598–1621) is often characterized by the beginning of imperial decline. A ruler who delegated heavily to his court favorite, the Duke of Lerma, Philip oversaw a Spain increasingly burdened by military overextension, economic instability, and costly wars. Nevertheless, the flow of New World silver—such as this coin—continued to fuel the Spanish economy, even as internal decay quietly eroded the empire’s foundations.
This particular piece was salvaged from the Santa Margarita, one of the ill-fated ships in the legendary 1622 Spanish Treasure Fleet, which met its doom off the Florida Keys. Departing from Havana on September 4, 1622, the fleet—laden with untold riches from the Spanish Americas—was caught in a devastating hurricane just two days into its voyage. The Santa Margarita, alongside its sister ship the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, was overwhelmed by the storm and lost to the sea, scattering its vast treasures across the ocean floor.
The Santa Margarita carried immense wealth: silver coins like this one, gold ingots, emeralds, pearls, and a trove of personal items from its passengers, including luxury goods, religious artifacts, and contraband cargo smuggled aboard to evade royal taxation. In the wake of the disaster, the Spanish Crown mounted urgent—but ultimately limited—salvage efforts, enlisting enslaved African and indigenous divers in a desperate bid to reclaim the treasure. Despite some early recoveries, much of the wreck’s fortune remained lost for over 350 years.
The ship’s resting place remained a maritime mystery until the 1980s, when famed treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his team at Treasure Salvors undertook a painstaking search. Unlike the Atocha, whose treasure "motherlode" was located in 1985, the Santa Margarita's riches were widely dispersed, complicating recovery efforts. Yet over time, thousands of artifacts were uncovered—gleaming gold bars, elaborately worked jewelry, and silver coins like this cob, each one a fragment of 17th-century history pulled from the depths.
This coin, a genuine piece of that sunken legacy, bears the rugged texture and patina typical of shipwreck silver, offering a tangible connection to Spain’s colonial enterprise and the perilous journeys of its treasure fleets. Today, artifacts from the Santa Margarita are prized by collectors, scholars, and museums alike for the stories they tell—of empire, ambition, disaster, and rediscovery.x
Click Here to read more about the 'Atocha 1622 Shipwreck'
Weight: 11.51g | Grade: III | Condition: XF (Shipwreck Effect)
Reference: KM10, Cal-911 | Provenance: Recovered from the wreck of the Santa Margarita
Includes: Original Treasure Salvors tag and photo certificate #11,256
Struck at the fabled Potosi mint in the early 17th century, this silver 8 reales coin hails from the reign of King Philip III of Spain—a monarch whose rule marked a turning point in the Spanish Empire’s trajectory. Although born into the height of Habsburg power, Philip III's reign (1598–1621) is often characterized by the beginning of imperial decline. A ruler who delegated heavily to his court favorite, the Duke of Lerma, Philip oversaw a Spain increasingly burdened by military overextension, economic instability, and costly wars. Nevertheless, the flow of New World silver—such as this coin—continued to fuel the Spanish economy, even as internal decay quietly eroded the empire’s foundations.
This particular piece was salvaged from the Santa Margarita, one of the ill-fated ships in the legendary 1622 Spanish Treasure Fleet, which met its doom off the Florida Keys. Departing from Havana on September 4, 1622, the fleet—laden with untold riches from the Spanish Americas—was caught in a devastating hurricane just two days into its voyage. The Santa Margarita, alongside its sister ship the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, was overwhelmed by the storm and lost to the sea, scattering its vast treasures across the ocean floor.
The Santa Margarita carried immense wealth: silver coins like this one, gold ingots, emeralds, pearls, and a trove of personal items from its passengers, including luxury goods, religious artifacts, and contraband cargo smuggled aboard to evade royal taxation. In the wake of the disaster, the Spanish Crown mounted urgent—but ultimately limited—salvage efforts, enlisting enslaved African and indigenous divers in a desperate bid to reclaim the treasure. Despite some early recoveries, much of the wreck’s fortune remained lost for over 350 years.
The ship’s resting place remained a maritime mystery until the 1980s, when famed treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his team at Treasure Salvors undertook a painstaking search. Unlike the Atocha, whose treasure "motherlode" was located in 1985, the Santa Margarita's riches were widely dispersed, complicating recovery efforts. Yet over time, thousands of artifacts were uncovered—gleaming gold bars, elaborately worked jewelry, and silver coins like this cob, each one a fragment of 17th-century history pulled from the depths.
This coin, a genuine piece of that sunken legacy, bears the rugged texture and patina typical of shipwreck silver, offering a tangible connection to Spain’s colonial enterprise and the perilous journeys of its treasure fleets. Today, artifacts from the Santa Margarita are prized by collectors, scholars, and museums alike for the stories they tell—of empire, ambition, disaster, and rediscovery.x
Click Here to read more about the 'Atocha 1622 Shipwreck'
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