Denomination: 2 Escudos

Reign: Philip IV

Mint: Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia

Assayer: R 1642 - 1676

Date: Not Visible

Weight: 6.73 gm  

Grade: NGC 6960916-001 - Grade MS65 - "top in NGC census!"

Description: Assayer "R" below denomination II to the right, mintmark N.R to left. Very sharp full cross (off center) and shield with full NR mintmark to left and denomination-assayer II - R to right below full crown, with luster all over, a premium coin that is one of only two at this top grade for all of Philip IV form this mint and at that grade from the Maravillas Shipwreck.

History: As the Almirante (“admiral’s ship,” or rear guard) of the homebound Spanish fleet in January of 1656, the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas was officially filled with over five million pesos of treasure (and probably much more in contraband, as was usually the case). That treasure included much of the silver salvaged from the South Seas Fleet’s Capitana of 1654 that wrecked on Chanduy Reef off Ecuador (see above). The ill-fated treasure sank once again when the Maravillas unexpectedly ran into shallow water and was subsequently rammed by one of the other ships of its fleet, forcing the captain to try to ground the Maravillas on a nearby reef on Little Bahama Bank off Grand Bahama Island. In the ensuing chaos, exacerbated by strong winds, most of the 650 people on board the ship died in the night, and the wreckage scattered. Spanish salvagers soon recovered almost half a million pesos of treasure quickly, followed by more recoveries over the next several decades, yet with over half of the official cargo still unfound.