Page 283 - Treasure, World & U.S. Coin Auction 17

Spanish 1715 Fleet, east coast of Florida

1465. Gold and red-coral rosary, complete and intact. 56.08 grams total, about 34” long. A most impressive religious jewel, with all the
coral and gold beads intact (a few with small barnacles still attached), very similar to the specimen we offered in our last auction (same beach
find) but with a few more coral beads (53 in all, being five “decades” around the neck and three beads down to the cross) in addition to the
5 gold beads (known as “paternosters”) and with slightly different crucifix, this one with 1-3/4” flat cross surmounted with separately cast
Jesus figure and engraved with INRI at top and the skull and crossbones of Golgotha at bottom (the backside plain), integrated loop at top.
Red coral was a popular constituent of rosaries as it was believed to protect against magic spells, going back to Greek mythology that gave red
coral’s origin as “the spurts of blood that gushed forth when Medusa’s head was cut off by Perseus.” Note that 90% of hammer price will go
to the Caron Foundation center for drug-addiction treatment. With photo-certificate and appraisal from 2010. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000.

1466. Gold “olive blossom” chain, ex-
Haskins. 29.90 grams, 21” long. Practical length
(perfect for modern wearing), consisting of small,
ornate, hand-crafted links, each of which is basi-
cally a 2-sided, 6-petalled flower (usually called
“olive blossom”), found in such abundance from
the Fleet that many believe it was a form of tax-
free alternative to coins (hence the oft-used term
“money chain”), this specimen also noteworthy
in that it is nearly equivalent to the weight of
an 8 escudos. Pedigreed to our Auction #6, with
original lot-tag #1717 and original certificate
hand-signed by Goin “Jack” Haskins, Jr. Estimate:
$6,000-$9,000.

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