Page 224 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

196 E. Von der Porten

Fig. 12.7 Spanish-colonial
coins heavily encrusted with
sand and patination
products (Courtesy of the
Subdirección de Arqueología
Subacuática, Instituto
Nacional de Antropología e
Historia [SAS-INAH])

Fig. 12.8 The piece of eight
weighs approximately
1 ounce, or 28 g identi!ed as
production in Mexico City in
1572 and in Potosi, Upper
Peru, in 1574 (Courtesy of
SAS-INAH)

Potosi. The coins give us the information that the shipwreck could not have
occurred before 1575, because we must allow a year for the travel of the Potosi coin
from its minting through Lima, Callao, Acapulco, and Manila before being lost on
the Baja California beach.
Two navigating instruments have been found. The ship’s boat’s sounding lead is
a European form which could have been cast just about anywhere the Spaniards
6
were active—even aboard the galleon itself (Fig. 12.9). A small “splash” or

6
Comparable sounding leads are described in Gardiner (2005, pp. 277–279).