Bolivia: , Philip IV "Piedmont" Cob 2 Reales 1663 P-E Genuine NGC,...

Philip IV "Piedmont" Cob 2 Reales 1663 P-E Genuine NGC, Potosi mint, CB-7104, Cal-931. Salvaged from the "Piedmont" (sunk in 1795 in the Lyme Bay, south of England). Dark but showing clear date and assayers/mintmarks, as well near-full cross/pillars. As apart of an incredibly large fleet of 300 ships, the Piedmont was bound for the West Indies to suppress a French uprising. The ship was forced into Lyme Bay on November 18th, 1795, due to a hurricane that would scatter and sink all ships located along the Dorset Coast. The Piedmont, along with five other ships (The Aeolus, Catherine, Golden Grove, Thomas, and Venus) would break along Chesil Beach to collectively become known as the ‘Lyme Bay Wrecks'. In the 1980's, the slew of wrecks were salvaged by divers Selwyn Williams and Les and Julia C. Kent. They discovered numerous silver cobs attributed to the late 1600s; assumed to be coins that were captured from 17th century wrecks, stored in the Bank of England, and then lost again. From the Gonzaga Collection HID10510052018 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved