3397) The Silver Shipwreck Treasure of the Princess Louisa (1743):
(Three ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Princess Louisa, after Princess Louisa).
For 300 years, Spain produced 80% of the silver, and 70% of the gold in the world.
The “Pillars and Waves” design is highly prized as some of the most beautiful coins ever minted.
Spanning between the Pillars of Hercules is the Latin phrase, “PLVS VLTRA” meaning “MORE BEYOND.”
On the Reverse is the cross.
Carrying these stunning coins, the British East India Company ship Princess Louisa went to the bottom off the Cape Verde Islands in 1743.
This post includes Rare Princess Louisa shipwreck coins - with their Crosses, Lion, Castles...
Princess Louisa 1743
Princess Louisa Shipwreck Coins Spanish Treasure from the Wreck of a British East Indiaman...
Ships like Princess Louisa were the largest, and the most beautiful, in the British merchant marine and were only rivalled by the larger galleons of Spain and Portugal.
They had evolved during the 130 years that England had been trading with the East and were now big, but graceful ships; strong, fast, well-armed and eminently suited for the long and dangerous passages they had to make.
But treacherous currents, combined with inaccurate charts, sealed Princess Louisa's fate in the shallow shoals of the Cape Verde Islands.
Like most trade ships of her day, the trade coinage she was loaded with was Spanish, not British.
She was carrying thousands of the famed "Pieces of Eight" of this era; deeply struck, beautifully dated, and with a stunning cross and pillars and wave design.
Due to their beautiful design, they are some of the most prized Spanish treasure coins ever minted.
The ill-fated journey:
Princess Louisa set sail from Portsmouth on her last voyage on 20 March 1743 in company with another East Indiaman, Winchester, commanded by Captain Gabriel Steward, 26 smaller merchantmen and, since this was a time when England was at war with Spain, a naval escort in the form of the 70-gun two-decker warship, H.M.S. Sterling Castle.
However, the early stages of the voyage were uneventful and once clear of the cruising grounds of the Spanish privateers, the two East Indiamen parted from their consorts and sailed south towards the Cape Verde Islands, Winchester struggling to keep up with Princess Louisa who was the better sailing ship.
But she would never leave the Cape Verde Islands. Lost on the breakers, her last act of heroism was to sound the alarm, and save the crew of Winchester.
The silver “pieces of eight” are true pieces of global maritime history.
The Coins:
Princess Louisa Shipwreck, (2) Potosi 1 Real Silver Cob Over 14k Gold Dumbbells on Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
Links:
The Clipper - Cutty Sark:
Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for sharing this interesting post."
Thank you so much Khanna sahab.
DeleteRajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very interesting post depicting historical marine journey 👍👍"
Thank you so much Trikha sahab for visiting this post.
DeleteVikram Bhatnagar has commented:
ReplyDelete"For 300 years Spain produced 80% of the World's Silver and 70% of the World's Gold;" now that's hard to believe!
Hindustan was called "Sone ki Chiriya!" So what's missing, one wonders!"
There were a lot of other things which the world coveted - indian silk, spices, calco cotton cloth. The Dutch traded in Pulicat cotton shirts lungis which were the rage all over Europe and Royalty used to wear it. The trade was so massive that the British East India co was set up to disrupt the Dutch trade. The rest is history.
DeleteSatish Srivastava has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very beautiful ancient coins . Thanks Rajeev ji."
Thank you so much Satishji for visiting this post.
Delete