Page 280 - Treasure, World & U.S. Coin Auction 17

Shipwreck Artifacts

Note: photos not actual size (reduced or enlarged to show details)

Unidentified ca.-1543 wreck off Grand Bahama Island

1451. Large glass “chevron” trade bead, intact, very rare provenance. 41.11 grams, 1-1/2” long and 1” in
diameter. Largest bead we have seen but an exact match in design with the main ones from around the Caribbean,
with dark blue center and red on ends in chevron pattern, very thick and heavy and intact, also one of very few items
recovered and sold from this very early wreck whose main yield was a very rare breech-loading cannon. With Humphreys
photo-certificate (1992). Estimate: $500-$750.

“Power Plant wreck,” sunk in the late 1500s off Hutchinson Island, east

coast of Florida

1452. Silver (contraband) spike, very rare and important. 247 grams, 7-3/4” long. A rather sneaky way to hide wealth on board the
ship (thereby avoiding tax) using a typical spike shape with square shank, round head and arrow-like tip, nice silver color with dark toning in
surface pits, nearly identical to one sold in our Auction #12 (lot 1776) for $1900 plus buyer’s fee. Estimate: $1,000-up.

Unidentified ca.-1590 wreck off the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico

1453. Bronze nested weight set, encrusted but complete,
ex-Bobby Allison’s Sunken Treasure Museum. 429 grams, about
1-1/2” tall and 2” in diameter. With lovely encrustation and green patina
all over the exterior, yet the nesting cups inside intact and removable,
a common but popular item from the time that is rarely found on
shipwrecks. With photos from his museum and of the cover of the April
1991 issue of Treasure magazine, which featured Allison and Carl Fismer
and their finds, including this piece on the table on the cover. Estimate:
$500-$750.

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