Aventurero, sunk in 1767 off Uruguay
Dove, sunk in 1773 off St. Augustine, Florida
968. Set of four trade beads. 4.5 grams total, ¼” to ½” in diameter. The Aventurero was a Spanish merchant ship that wrecked in 1767 near the border of Brazil and Uruguay on her way from Spain to Buenos Aires carrying trade goods like these beads, three of which are spherical (one large and pink and the other two small and blue), the last one ovoid but broken in half (black with design in white), composition and value unknown, but sure to be popular as artifacts from a wreck we have never advertised before. Estimate: $50 - $75
Leimuiden, sunk in 1770 off the Cape Verde Islands
971. Iron hammer head, 1700s, professionally conserved. 2 lb, 6½” long and about 1-3/8" to a side. This wreck was a slave ship from Africa that sank in a storm off St. Augustine, Florida, on October 18, 1773. So far the only items recovered from the wreck have been various tools like this one, which may have been used in the shackling of slaves. This lot is a heavy, doubled-headed hammer with elliptical hole for handle, very solid and uncorroded but surfaces conserved anyway, one end clearly flattened from use. Estimate: $75 - $110
Unidentified late-1700s[?] wreck off the Mosquito Coast at the border between Honduras and Guatemala
969. Solid silver fork with hallmarks, Dutch, mid-1700s. 60 grams, 8" long and 1" wide. This lot and next are the first artifacts we have ever offered from the Leimuiden, a Dutch East Indiaman that sank off the Cape Verde Islands on January 25, 1770. This fork is in near pristine condition, the tines all intact and the silver surfaces polished to a shine, with four bold (toned) hallmarks on back that appear to be FRP (silversmith Frederik Rudolf Pregt, Amsterdam, 1744-1787) and K (date-mark) with two others in between. With Terry Hiron photo-certificate. Estimate: $200 - $300
970. Solid silver tablespoon with hallmarks, Dutch, mid-1700s. 59 grams, 8½” long and 1-3/4" wide. Condition and origin as above, another near-pristine artifact in beautifully polished silver (almost looks new) with toned hallmarks on back (same as above). With Terry Hiron photo-certificate. Estimate: $200 - $300
174
972. Bronze breech-loading cannon. About 105 lb, 38” long, about 6” in diameter, 3” bore. This cannon was found on a reef by some local fisherman, whom the consignor encountered on his way to find a lost city in the jungle. The consignor originally presented this piece to us as a 1500s cannon, identical in design to one known to have been used in the time of Cortez; but it is also nearly identical to some breech-loading cannons recovered from the wreck of the Cazador of 1784 in Gulf of Mexico (open square hole instead of cascabel at end, plus rectangular slots flanking the open breech, round trunnions). The problem is that it lacks any markings or crests (as made, not because of corrosion or damage, although the surfaces do show some pitting and nicks and cuts), but what is certain is that it is Spanish colonial in usage, and it is very impressive like all cannons, fully intact and probably even usable. Best of all: Inside the barrel are several large patches of pink and white coral! Estimate: $3,000 - $4,500