Denomination: 1 Reales                                                                        

Date:  1653      

Mint: Potosi                                                                                           

Weight: 3.65 gm

Reign: Philip III    

Assayer: "E" Erqueta (1652-1679)

Mount: Sterling Silver 

Description: 1 Reales Spanish Cob. Environmental damage. Unknown Shipwreck. Obverse: Clear type VIII Pillar and Wave design. Visible date of XX53. Denomination (1) visible at top between pillars. Reverse: Clear Jerusalem Cross with lions and castles slightly visible in four quadrants.  Assayer and Mint marks visible on left and right of cross.

History: This coin is a certified member of the “Beachcomber Series” by Shipwreck Treasures of the Keys. It has been numismatically certified as authentic to its time period and demonstrates evidence of environmental wear and corrosion consistent with marine wear related to a shipwreck. It is vey similar and typical of coins from the La Capitana Shipwreck.

Coins of The Beachcomber Series do not have official salvager documentation proving their origin from a legal underwater shipwreck recovery. These coins may have been discovered on a beach near a wreck site, legally recovered by a salvager but now with lost documentation. No coin suspected of illegal removal from a wreck site will be included in this series. Each coin is certified as an authentic artifact that has survived a shipwreck. The Beachcomber Series also allows for the creation of a database to further our understanding of shipwrecks and their contents, both locally and globally, providing an additional benefit for collectors and researchers alike.