1727 8 Reales Cob (26.35 g)
Luis I 8 Reales from the Seahorse - a South Sea Company slave ship lost off the Río de la Plata in 1728.
- Country
- Bolivia (Spanish Colonial)
- Metal
- Silver
- Mint
- Potosí (P), Assayer Y
- NGC Grade
- Fine Details · Saltwater Damage
- NGC Cert #
- 8371183-003
- Pedigree
- Ex: Seahorse
How the coin reached the seabed.
A slave ship of the South Sea Company, the Seahorse was part of the triangular slave trade, taking human cargo from West Africa to various ports in Spanish colonial America. The South Sea Company would itself become infamous as one of the first "Ponzi" schemes in British history.
On September 29th, 1728, the Seahorse was caught in a sudden gale and thrown upon Gorritti Island at the mouth of the Río de la Plata. Contemporary salvage recovered all of her registered cargo - but, like all ships conducting trade with the colonies, she had contraband on board. Some of that contraband was salvaged in the 1990s by local fishermen.
This 1727 Potosí 8 Reales cob of Luis I - assayer Y, 26.35 grams - is one of the few coins to surface from the Seahorse wreck, certified by NGC and pedigreed within The Knapton Collection.