The Denver Show 2010 Mineral Rooms!
* Updated October 8th, 2010  *

NEW ATOCHA SHIPWRECK BAR!

The price of Silver is SOARING!!! And I am pleased to offer this 100 lb+ Atocha Shipwreck bar for collectors and
investors! These bars are nearly 400 years old and are pure silver. This is the largest bar I've ever offered and is
one of the largest ever brought up from the shipwreck site. It contains over 1200 ounces of silver at 99% purity.
Bars of this size and quality have disappeared from the market due to the rising price of silver metal and this huge
represents a rare opportunity. Reserve it quickly before the price of bullion pushes the value even higher!!

MIN#Denver2010-80b Sold!

Huge authentic Silver Bar from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha Shipwreck!
A little bit of history - The Silver ore for this bar was mined by the native inhabitants under
Spanish rule and working conditions were less than favorable. One can also imagine how many
Silver specimens were destroyed in the production of this bar but the safety of the miners and
preservation of fine specimens was not on the minds of the Spanish rulers in 1622 - the year this
bar was cast. It was hauled a great distance from the Potosí mint to Portobello, a port in modern
day Panama, and then loaded aboard the ill-fated Atocha. The Atocha later ran into bad weather
and sank off the Florida Keys on September 6th, 1622. Only 5 of 265 passengers and crew
aboard the ship survived the wreck. After the sinking, the ship was located by its still visible
mast in 55 feet of water and initial salvage attempts were undertaken. Unfortunately (or
fortunately for later historians), the divers, who could only reach the wreck by holding their
breaths, were not able to break through the hatches to remove the valuable cargo and were
forced to leave the area to obtain proper recovery equipment. While they were gone, a second
storm ravaged what remained of the shipwreck and removed all traces of its location. It remained
lost until Mel Fisher and his salvors located the remains of the ship's hull on July 20th, 1985.
Dated P16ZX (1621) - Graded 1.0 (The highest grade possible for an Atocha bar)!
Weight = 100 Troy Lbs 3.2 Troy Ounces of 2380/2400 (99.16% pure) Silver.
Minted at the Potosí Mint (assayer's bite on top).
Manifest lists shipper as J. Delgado to himself. Measures 35 cm by 15 cm by 10.3 cm in size.
This is the heaviest bar I have ever seen or offered and it may be the largest bar from the entire shipwreck!
Also, note the stamps to the far right that look like crowns or stars. These stamps are smaller than the
usual Quinto tax stamps which display the shield of Spain and I haven't seen them appear on very many bars.
This bar also features a slanted defense cut line on the left side representing the amount to be cut away for taxes.
The bar is accompanied by the original Certificate of Authenticity.
Price $65,000

FOR ADDITIONAL NEW SPECIMENS, GO TO Denver 2010 Room 5 !

Rhodochrosite Room | Gold Room | Silver Rooms | Beryl Rooms | Elmwood Room | Exceptional Rooms | Tucson 2010 Rooms