HISTORIC OLD COINS
PIECES-OF-EIGHT FROM THE
WRECK OF THE EL CAZADOR
Few coins can match the history and romance of the
Piece-of-Eight.
Commonly known as the Spanish 8 Reales, or Spanish Milled Dollar, this
large silver coin was widely used throughout the Americas.
Its
wide
acceptance made it a favorite of both pirates and merchants.
It
was
used throughout the colonies before the American Revolution, and was
the basis of the United States Dollar. The coin continued to
be
legal
tender in the United States until 1857. These original Pieces-of-Eight
went down aboard the El
Cazador
in 1784 off the coast of Louisiana.
Some say that Spain's loss of
the El Cazador
changed the course of history. Spain had gained control of
New
Orleans and Louisiana from France by treaty in 1762, over objections of
the residents who had nothing to say in the matter. Following
the
American Revolution there was increasing rebellion in the territory
caused by restrictions Spain placed on trade with the United States, a
deluge of unbacked paper currency, and the ideals of the American
Revolution. King Carlos III of Spain dispatched the
brig of
war El Cazador, loaded with newly minted Pieces-of-Eight from the
Mexico City mint to New Orleans, in an effort to redeem the paper
currency and boost the local economy. Alas the ship was lost
at
sea. Perhaps it was attacked by pirates or lost in a storm.
The
loss was devastating to both Louisiana’s economy and Spain's ability to
profit from the territory. Further efforts by the Spanish
Crown
to sustain Louisiana failed, and in 1800, Spain ceded Louisiana back to
France in exchange for some minor European considerations.
Three
years later France sold Louisiana to the United States for $15 million
dollars. The Louisiana Purchase opened the floodgates of
westward
expansion for the young United States.
We have had these exciting coins that
helped bring
about a turning point in the history of the United States for some
time, however until recently, we have not been able to reveal the name
of the ship that they came from due to marketing
restrictions. We
can now reveal the story behind these historic Pieces-of-Eight.
The coins
bear the bust of Spanish King Carlos (Charles) III one side and the
Spanish coat-of-arms between the Pillars of Hercules on the other. The
coins were struck at the historic Mexico City Mint, and were on their
way from Mexico to the then Spanish port of New Orleans when the ship
was lost at sea. The coins were only recently recovered, and definitely
show signs that they have been underseas for the last 200 or so
years.
We offer the coin in two grades. The Heavily Corroded coins are
identifiable and show major design elements, however much of the silver
and most of the design details have been eaten away by the corrosive
salt water. We recommend these for someone who would like to have an
example of an historic Piece-of-Eight, a lucky pocket piece or just
want a real piece of treasure. The moderately corroded coins
are
hand
selected to show a readable date and a reasonable amount of the design
details, including a clear bust of Carlos
Item
L-SP8R-HC PIECE-OF-EIGHT OF CARLOS III
HEAVILY CORRODED $35.00
Item
L-SP8R-MC PIECE-OF-EIGHT OF CARLOS III
(1780-1783) MODERATELY CORRODED $99.50
SCARCE KOREAN COIN
FROM THE
MILITARY TRAINING COMMAND
From 1633 to
1891 Korea issued
an extensive series of bronze cash coins, called Sang P’yong T’ong Bo,
or :Always even currency”. Coins were minted by various
government agencies. Most of these coins were melted after
Japan
gained control of Korea starting in 1895, thus they are rarely seen
today. The Korean coins tend to be much cruder and not as
well
cast as those of China or Japan. This 1 Mun coin was issued
by
the Korean Military Training Command between 1832 and 1857.
The
reverse gives the mint name, as well as the furnace and series number
for the coin
Item
L-KOR-M28 KOREA 1 MUN, MILITARY TRAINING
COMMAND 1832-57 VG $4.00
OLD
UNCIRCULATED COIN FROM THE KINGDOM BULGARIA
This 1912 Brilliant Uncirculated
Bulgarian Bronze 1 Stotinka was found in the basement of a church in
Sophia, Bulgaria. The coins were probably hidden there at the
beginning of World War I, then forgotten. One side of the
coin
has the arms of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the other has the denomination
and date. Even after almost 100 years the coin still retains
much
of its original red luster. We are pleased to offer the coin
at
half of its $14.00 catalog value!
Item
BG-22
BULGARIA 1 STOTINKA 1912 KM22 AU-Unc.
$7.00
Also see:
FIRST COINS OF COMMUNIST BULGARIA
INEXPENSIVE UNCIRCULATED 19th CENTURY
COIN OF OTTOMAN EGYPT
MONGKUT INTRODUCES THE
FIRST “MODERN” COIN OF
SIAM
King
Rama IV, also known as Mongkut, of Anna and the King of Siam fame,
implemented many major reforms to Siam (now known a
Thailand).
One of these was the introduction of flat, round “western” style coins
to his country. One of the first of these coins was this
undated
tin 1/8 Fuang first minted in 1862 on presses imported from
England. One side of the coin features three
crowns.
The other side features an elephant within a circle and the
denomination in both Thai and English. Because of the
softness of
the metal and the moist, tropical, conditions of Siam, relatively few
of this historic coin coins have survived.
Item
L-TH-6 SIAM 1/8 FUANG (1862) Y6 VG-F $7.00
FOR
MORE COINS OF SIAM &
THAILAND PLEASE SEE:
SILVER SIAMESE COIN FEATURES
3-HEADED ELEPHANT
50
YEAR OLD
COINS OF THAILAND
MODERN
COINS OF
THAILAND
THAILAND’S
FIRST SILVER COMMEMORATIVE
THAILAND
COMMEMORATES WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE WITH BI-METALLIC
COIN
FOR MORE HISTORICAL OLD COINS, PLEASE SEE:
1000
YEARS OF AFGHANISTAN COINS
OLD COINS OF ANNAM
MEDIEVAL INDIAN SILVER TANKA
OF A TYRANT
HISTORICAL
COINS AND NOTES OF IRAQ
COINS OF
INDIA and PAKISTAN
COINS OF THE
MIDDLE EAST
2400 YEARS OF CHINESE COINS and
CURRENCY
COINS
OF DEAD NATIONS
NOTE:
All
pictures are of a typical item taken
from stock. Because we have multiples of most items, the item
you
receive may not look exactly the same as the picture, however it will
be as described.
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TABLE OF
CONTENTS FOR THE INTERESTING STUFF CATALOG
INDEX OF
COINS AND BANKNOTES IN THE INTERESTING STUFF CATALOG
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ORDERING INFORMATION
scale with which to judge image sizes
NOTE: All pictures are of a
typical item taken from
stock. Because we have multiples of most items, the item you
receive
may not look exactly the same, however it will be as described.
Please add postage.
California residents include
8.25% sales tax. 3-week return privileges.
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Joel Anderson
PO Box 365
Grover Beach, CA 93483-0365
USA
Phone 1 805 489 8045 NEW FAX 1 805 299 1818
email: orders@joelscoins.com
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