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Thursday, 23 July 2026

4600) Did You Know Series (142): 1)Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (Our Lady of Mercy in English, a title of the Virgin Mary) was a Spanish Navy frigate which was sunk by the British off the south coast of Portugal on 5 October 1804 during the Battle of Cape Santa Maria: 2) Salvaging the Gold and Silver coins worth $500 million: 3) The legal battle which was fought successfully by Spain:

4600) Did You Know Series (142): 1)Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (Our Lady of Mercy in English, a title of the Virgin Mary) was a Spanish Navy frigate which was sunk by the British off the south coast of Portugal on 5 October 1804 during the Battle of Cape Santa Maria: 2) Salvaging the Gold and Silver coins worth $500 million: 3) The legal battle which was fought successfully by Spain:

Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (Our Lady of Mercy in English, a title of the Virgin Mary) was a Spanish Navy frigate which was sunk by the British off the south coast of Portugal on 5 October 1804 during the Battle of Cape Santa Maria.

At the time of the naval action Spain and England were at peace with each other. The Spanish frigate was part of a small flotilla sailing from Montevideo (Uruguay) to Cadiz (Andalusia, Spain), transporting silver, gold, vicuña, cinnamon, and quinoa. The other ships in the flotilla were Medea, Santa Clara, and Fama. 

The flotilla was intercepted by a Royal Navy task force, commanded by Graham Moore aboard HMS Indefatigable, and ordered to change course and proceed to a British port for inspection. 

The Spanish commanding officer, brigadier José de Bustamante y Guerra (1759–1825) objected that the two nations were at peace, declared that they would not comply with the order, and ordered battle quarters, despite being outgunned and outnumbered. A single shot from HMS Amphion, commanded by Samuel Sutton, hit the ship's magazine, causing an explosion that sank the ship.

250 Spanish crewmen were lost, and 51 survivors were rescued from the sea and taken as prisoner. The other three vessels were interned in Britain. Her wreck has been compared with that of USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, due to the loss of life and the battle leading to a declaration of war.

Salvaging the Gold & Silver coins which sank with the Ship:

In 2007 the company Odyssey Marine Exploration reported having found, at an undisclosed location, a very rich shipwreck code-named "Black Swan". Odyssey recovered almost 500,000 silver and gold coins from the wreck, and transported them to the United States. 

Spanish researchers quickly identified the ship found by Odyssey with Mercedes and the Spanish government started a legal battle to halt what they considered was an act of illegal looting.

The approximate location of Mercedes was off Cape Santa Maria on the south coast of Iberia

A recovered cultural treasure" («El último viaje de la fragata Mercedes. Un tesoro cultural recuperado») from June to December 2014:

In 2015 the Spanish government commanded an archaeological expedition to study the shipwreck, which proved that Odyssey had damaged the remnants of the ship when extracting coins.

A US firm hauled up hundreds of thousands of gold and silver coins from a sunken Spanish frigate, then Spain fought through the courts and won back the estimated $500-million haul.

A US firm hauled up hundreds of thousands of gold and silver coins from a sunken Spanish frigate, then Spain fought through the courts and won back the estimated $500-million haul.

A very small number of coins and effects recovered from the ship were deposited in Gibraltar, because they showed clear signs consistent with an internal explosion on the ship and thus confirmed Spanish claims to the wreck being that of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes. 

These were not returned to Spain until 2013, when a court finally ordered Odyssey Marine to return the missing pieces.

On 2 December 2012 the 14.5 tons cargo of gold and silver coins recovered from the wreck was deposited in the National Museum of Subaquatic Archaeology in Cartagena (Murcia) for cataloging, study and permanent display. 



José de Bustamante y Guerra was in command of a fleet of four frigates, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, La Clara, La Medea and La Fama, when they were intercepted by an English squadron on 5 October 1804

Spanish Naval Museum along with National Archaeological Museum of Spain showed the recovered treasure in the exhibition "The last trip of the frigate Mercedes"

The Legal Battle regarding the claims to the recovered coins:

Peru attempted to claim the treasure as being originally plundered by the Spanish

However, a court case decided that the Spanish government was the rightful successor of interest because at the time of the wreck, Peru was considered a Spanish colony and not a separate legal entity, therefore it had no legal standing to be entitled to the proceeds of the lawsuit. 

A U.S. federal court and a panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the Spanish claim to the contents of the ship; Spain took control of the treasure in February 2012.

A notable judgment that influenced the protection of underwater cultural heritage initially began as one of the largest treasure recoveries in modern history. 

In 2007, the Florida-based salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration secretly recovered around 500,000 gold and silver coins from a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean under the codename "Black Swan". 

Interestingly, the haul, which was estimated to be around $500 million, was originally presented without revealing the wreck’s identity

According to Spain’s Ministry of Culture, subsequent investigations established that the treasure came from Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a Spanish Navy frigate which sank in 1804. 

Following the investigation, Spain launched an international legal challenge, arguing that the wreck remained a sovereign warship protected under international law, a claim that was ultimately upheld by the U.S. courts.

The naval tragedy that reshaped history:

According to the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology (ARQUA), Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes was built in Havana in 1786 and was part of a convoy on a commercial route between Spain and its overseas American territories. 

According to El País, in October 1804, the frigate carrying silver and gold coins, commercial goods and passengers back to Spain was attacked by a British squadron near Portugal.

It is worth noting that the attack came while Britain and Spain were not formally at war. Historians say a cannon shot detonated the ship’s powder magazine, causing a catastrophic explosion that sank the vessel with Spanish passengers aboard. Notably, historians regard the attack as one of the events that pushed Spain into the Napoleonic Wars against the British.

Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes' recovery triggered an international legal battle:

A Model of the Spanish Frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (Our Lady of Mercy in English, a title of the Virgin Mary).

More than two centuries later, Odyssey Marine Exploration recovered the wreck using remotely operated underwater vehicles and transported the recovered fortune to the United States. 

According to Spain’s Ministry of Culture, the company announced the discovery in 2007 but did not reveal the ship’s name or exact location. 

Spain then filed suit in U.S. federal courts, arguing that Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes was a sovereign-immune military vessel whose remains and cargo could not be legally salvaged for commercial purposes. 

The legal dispute drew international attention as it tested whether historic naval wrecks should be treated as archaeological heritage rather than treasure.

Ultimately, the courts sided with Spain, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit noted that the frigate remained protected by the doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity and by the longstanding agreements recognising the ownership of state vessels. 

Therefore, Odyssey was ordered to return the recovered coins and artefacts. 

The recovered fortune was flown back to Spain in 2012 by two Spanish military aircraft after nearly five years of litigation. 

It is worth noting that the ruling has since become a significant legal precedent for protecting underwater cultural heritage from commercial exploitation.

Following the legal win, Spain chose to preserve the recovered cargo as an archaeological archive. 

According to ARQUA, the treasure is undergoing long-term conservation, documentation and scientific research to understand the ship’s final voyage better. 

In 2019, UNESCO recognised the Mercedes Project as a best-practice example in the protection of underwater cultural heritage, as it combined international legal cooperation and public education.









Links:




 Links to SS Central America (The Ship Of Gold) posts on this blog:

i) "SS Central America" (The "Ship of Gold"), USA (Part I): "California Gold Rush" Gold Nuggets recovered from the historic wreck which sank on 12.09.1857

ii) The Ship of Gold (SS Central America), USA - Part II: A historic 54-pound Gold Rush ingot which sank to the bottom of the Sea in the shipwreck SS Central America in 1857 was recovered 131 years later

 "Australian Shipwrecks" Coin Series:





Links to interesting Posts on coins from Tuvalu Islands:


The Treasure ship: San Jose:


The Treasure ship : Princess Louisa:

The Clipper - Cutty Sark:


Did You Know Series : The SS Tilawa:


Nuestra Senora de Atocha shipwreck & Salvage of the enormous Treasure:


The Atlantic Sands - Shipwreck:


The 1715 Treasure Fleet - or "The Nueva Espana Fleet:


For interesting posts on Coins and stamps of Portugal and Spain, please visit the following links:
















































52) XX International Botanical Congress in Madrid 2024, Spain: Kyrgyz Express Post (KEP), Limited Liability Company (LLC): Date/Year of Stamp set issue: 10th March 2025






58) Did You Know Series (142): Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes (Our Lady of Mercy in English - a title of the Virgin Mary) was a Spanish Navy Frigate which was sunk by the British Navy off the South coast of Portugal on 5th October 1804 during the Battle of Cape Santa Maria: 2) Salvaging the Gold and Silver Coins worth $500 million: 3) The legal battle ehich was fought successfully by Spain


For interesting posts on Coins and stamps of Portugal, please visit the following links:
































The "Age of Discovery" Escudo Banknote Series:




My Stamp Album - The Adventures of Tori & Co.:






Spain and Spanish Culture through its Animals Gold Coin Series:





Some interesting links to Spanish & Portuguese exploration:





Discoverers of Oceania Annual Stamp Series:






Portugal:




The "Age of Discovery" Escudo Banknote Series:




For posts on coins issued under the Eurostar Coin Programme, please visit the following links:

7) i) "Europa Coin Programme" or the "European Star Programme" or the "Eurostar Programme" ii) Central Bank of Malta issues 50 Euro (Gold) and 10 Euro (Silver) Proof Coins featuring "Architecture and artwork of the Gothic Era" in 05/2020 (which is a part of the wider programme focussing on the Ages of Europe: Date of Coins issue: 08.05.2020





Links to interesting posts on Coins & Banknotes of Japan:












Posts on Indian Railways:

1) Celebrating 150 Years of serving the Indian Nation by the Railways in 2002-03

Posts on United Kingdom Railways:

1) Commemorating 150 Years of the London Underground : Two pound Coins minted by the Royal Mint UK, showing the "Roundel" logo and a train emerging from a tunnel 



Japanese Railways:

1) 150th Anniversary of Railways in Japan (1872-2022): The Japan Mint has issued a 1,000 Yen Silver Coin to commemorate the milestone: Date/Year of Coin issue: 04.10.2022

Steam Power - Australian Rail Heritage Coin Series:







Posts on Romanian Locomotives/Trains:

6) Steam Locomotives", Romania: Romfilatelia (Romanian Post) has issued a set of fout postage stamps featuriung steam locomotives: Date/Year of Stamp Set issus: 24.09.2025

Posts on Czechoslovakia Trains:

11) Skoda 498 "Albatros" Steam Locomotive, Czechoslovakia: A Gold Medal issued by the Czech Mint commemorating the iconic "workhorse" of the 1940s upto 1970s: Date/Year of Medal issue: 2021

Posts on Trains Stamps from Spain:

1) The New Silk Road: A Joint issue of a two Stamp Set of 1.50 Euros each by Spain (Correos Post) and China: Stamps issue date: 01.07.2019

2) Historic Trains - Euskotren Steam Train, Spain: A postage stamp issued by Correios (Spanish Post): Date/Year of Stamp issue: 27.09.2025

Crypto Stamps with NFT:

:1) Croatian Crypto Stamp - 2, Croatia: A 50 HRK stamp (a combination of the analog and the digital) issued by "Hrvatska Posta" (Croatian Post) in coordination with the Croatian Blockchain community gathered around the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Association: Date of Stamp issue: 16.12.2020

2) Did You Know Series (49): Dogecoin (DOGE), Blockchain Mint, Singapore: Blockchain Mint has issued Silver DOGE Medals in three variants - i) Silver Dogecoin Cryptocurrency Medal Gem BU, ii) Silver Dogecoin Cryptocurrency Medal Proof-Like in Blister Pak, iii) Dogecoin Cryptocurrency Commemorative Medal Antiqued in Blister Pak: Date of Medal release/shipping: 05/2021

3) Did You Know Series (50): A Guest Post by Avery Wright: "Is Making the Crypto Space Legally Complaint Paving the Road to Mass (Blockchain) Adoption?" - A perspective:

4) Gibraltar Cryptocurrency Stamp: Stamp value 4 Pounds: Date of Stamp issue: 15.05.2021: (Pre-orderd accepted from 19.04.2021):

5) Bit-Coin Backed Banknotes are being envisaged by "Noteworthy" which are aimed at generating user confidence in the Cryptocurrency

6) "Blockchain Technology", Principality of Liechtenstein: A Crypto Stamp of CHF 5.20 titled "Perspective" issued by Liechtensteinische Post: Date of Stamp issue: 06.09.2021

7) "Bitcoin Logo", Niue Island: A $2 (Two Dollars) Silver Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) Coin features this iconic Logo of the well known Cryptocurrency: Year of Coin issue: 2022

8) Crypto-stamp - Rimec Nevera, Croatia: Hrvatska posta (Croatian Post) has issued a Crypto-stamp Souvenir Sheet (a combination of the analog and the digital) of One Stamp of HRK50.00 on a PVC background: Date of Crypto-stamp issue: 09.09.2021

9) "UN Crypto Stamps", United Nations: "New Technologies for the United Nations Stamp Series": United Nations Postal Administration brought out its first time ever UN Crypto Stamps, which run on Etherium Blockchain: Date of Stamps issue: 24.11.2020

10) "Equality", Liechtenstein: A "BlockChain Stamp Series: A Stamp 4.1 "Equality issued by Liechtensteinische Post (Philately Liechtenstein) with a face value of CHF 9.00): Date of Stamp issue: 09.09.2022

11) Croatian Crypto Stamp, Croatia: A 50 HRK Stamp (a combination of the analog and the digital) issued by "Hrvatska Posta (Croatian Post) in coordination with the Croatian Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Association: Date of Crypto Stamp issue: 09.09.2020

12) Crypto Stamp 4.0 - Grab the Bull by the Horns - set, Austria: Osterreichische Post AG (Austrian Post) has released a Joint-issue between two countries - Austria and Netherlands, featuring the new technology "Augmented Reality", with a new motif of the Bull: Date of Crypto Stamp issue: 28.10.2022

13) "UN Crypto Stamps", United Nations: "New Technologies for the United Nations Stamp Series": Series II of United Nations Crypto Stamps issued by the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) which run on Blockchain Technolgy: Date of Stamps issue:18.11.2022

14) 2022 NL Crypto Stamp - Duo Set Crypto The Netherlands (NL) + Oostenrijk (Austria) - Collectibles: Date of Joint Crypto Stamp issue: 22.09.2022

15) Nikola Tesla's inventions as motifs feature on Croatia's Fourth Crypto Stamp of 50 HRK issued by Hrvatska Posta (Croatian Post): Date of Crypto Stamp issue: 20.12.2022

16) "The Four Seasons" Crypto Stamps, Faroe Islands: The Faroe Islands Post (Posta Faroe Islands) has issued a set of four Crypto Stamps of 100 DKK (Danish Kroners) each featuring the "Four Seasons": Date of Stamp set issue: 23.06.2023

17) Professor Balthazar motifs feature on Croatia's Fifth Crypto Stamp of 7.80 Euro issued by Hrvatska Posta (Croatian Post): Date of Crypto Stamp issue: 07.09.2023

18) "Business Fox" or "Crypto Fox" with NFT. LiechtensteiLiechtsteinsche Post AG (Liechtenstein POst) has issued this Crypto Stamp in its continuimg series of Crypto Stamp issues: Date/Year of Crypto STamp issue: 02.09.2024

19) The World's first Multi-lateral Crypto Stamp, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands (Austria & BENELUX): Date/Year of Crypto Stamp issue: 21.10.2024

20) "Gibraltar Crypto Miniature Sheet Series" - A 5 Pounds Crypto Stamp celebrates the spirit of European Football issued by Gibraltar Post: Date/Year of Crypto Stamp issued: 04.07.2024

21) Crypto Stamp Island, Austria: Austrian Post has introduced a unique project - The world's first Crypto Stamp comic featuring their popular heroes: Date of Crypto Stamp issue: 21.10.2024

22) Empress Sisi and Emperor Franz Josef immortalised in physical form and on the blockchain, Austria: Oserreichische Post AG (Austrian Post) has issued this Crypto Stamp Art: Date/Year of Stamp issue: 12.12.2024

23) Swiss Crypto Stamp 5.0, Switzerland: Three main versions - Basic Edition, Silver Edition and Bronze Esition: Date/Year of Crypto Stamp issue: 09.12.2024

24) "The Creator - Techno Totem" : 1000 Satoshi, 2 oz Pure Silver Antique Finish Coin - Minted By: Mint XXI, Poland - United Crypto States (UCS): Date/Year of Coin issue: 2025

25) The Wings of Freedom 1000 Satoshi 1 oz Pure Silver Proof Gilded Coin - Minted By: Mint xxx, Poland - United Crypto States: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2025

26) A 25 Euro Silver Niobium Coin Set including Digitalised Crypto stamp: Date/Year of Digitised Crypto Stamp set issue: 12.03.2025

27) 0,001 Ether Ethereum (ETH) - United Crypto States: 1 oz Ag 999: Date of ETH issue: 10.10.2025

28) Athena, Goddess of Strategy, inspires bpost's new Crypto Stamp, Belgium: Date/Year of Crypto Stamp issue: 18.09.2025

29) Posiedon, Portugal: Heroes of Mythology Crypto Stamp series:m Correios de Portugal S.A. (CTT Portugal) has issued a Crypto stamp: Date/Year of Crypto Stamp issue: 18.09.202