News updates from directors of the 1715 Fleet Society, including stories, images, documents, and more. This is the main news feed for the society.
While searching through some old records and documents regarding the Real Eight Company, I came across this article dated July 8, 1965. We spent considerable time trying to ascertain the source of this article but, despite our efforts, we were unable to trace the source. It is interesting for several reasons which is why I
An interesting article was submitted by Fleet Society Director Jorge Proctor regarding a recent rare find on the 1715 Fleet wreck site known as the Cabin Wreck. Four intact glass Onion Bottles were found by veteran shipwreck salvor Captain Greg Bounds and his crew of the M/V Capitana. By any measure, finding an intact item
Real Eight Company dissolved. See the entirety of the Real 8’s Articles of Incorporation here.
The previous Cover Coin was an 8-reales which brought a boatload of documentation to its buyer, Ben Costello. The Cover Coin(s) this time have the same provenience but are of a different denomination. Dave Crooks, an attorney and avid coin and book collector from near Chicago, chose to purchase a couple of 4-real pieces from
Just a quick note about a few website updates we made this past week that improve the site experience for Fleet Society readers. In particular, we were able to compress images and automatically render them via a content delivery network, resulting in page load times that are 25% faster than before. If you’d like to
Our Treasure of the Month for November is this silver wedge shaped ingot, partially encrusted in a matrix of shells and other ocean deposits which gives the piece its unique character. Weighing in at an impressive 1905 grams (about 4.2 pounds), this item is one of the largest silver wedges that we have come across.
In cooperation with the 1715 Fleet Society and its 300th Anniversary Commemoration of the loss of this famous Spanish fleet, Cover Coins, whenever possible over this and the next three issues, will be selected from the Society’s website study set. Next up is this ruggedly handsome piece-of-eight minted at the Mexico City facility and described
A few days ago we posted “This Day in Fleet History”- October 8, 1964 which referenced the first sale of Real Eight Company gold. Here is an article form October 10, 1964 which summarizes some of the bidding action that took place at the sale.
Our Treasure of the Month for October is this exceptional Mexico 1713 MXo J eight escudos, struck on a huge (36mm) round planchet from a Royal die. Those who are students of Fleet related gold coinage are familiar with the poor quality of coins produced in 1713 at the Spanish colonial mint in Mexico City.
Recently, the Fleet Society membership has grown to more than 130 members. Our Directors, and me personally, know most of our members and recognize that these individuals have a wide variety of occupations and avocations. As an example, we have authors, historians, archaeologists, numismatists, divers, the list goes on. We recognize that we are very
Hi all, Craig here – web admin for the 1715 Fleet Society. We launched the new website five years ago with just a few members and since then the Society has grown by leaps and bounds. Today we have more than 100 lifetime members and the site is visited by nearly 5,000 per month. Our
Since retiring at the end of December 2020, I have had the opportunity to dig into all of the old archival records and documents that I acquired over the last 15 years. As a result, I have come across many interesting articles, records, letters and documents from the early days of salvaging the wreck sites
Apparently the successful buyer of this Lima 4E piece (Lot 15) in the recent Sedwick Treasure Auction #7 agreed with its description as the “FINEST KNOWN!” of its type, for it brought down the hammer at $18,400 (15% buyer’s fee included). This is the companion piece to the Lima 8E (Lot 10) from the Frank
Our Treasure of the Month for September is this beautiful gold box with a coral rosary and rings set with various gemstones. The recovery of this fantastic treasure has a very interesting back story. On August 1, 1995 Mike Maguire was a part time carpet installer part time salvor working the wreck sites of the
Recently we received an email from one of our members reporting a recent recovery of a chest of ornate silver pieces found by veteran salvor Mike Perna and his 1st Mate Milan Kalelkar. Please access this link for details of this historically significant find. Also see our Treasure of the Month for May 2021 which
In all its “crispness” of strike and “butter gold” beauty, this 27.1 g. piece from the fated Spanish treasure fleet of 1715 must be seen in a color photo or in-person for full appreciation! A fully-dated 1714 8-escudos from the Mexico City mint, its obverse exhibits a full shield, a 99.44% (essentially full) crown, and
The recent ANA Show in Chicago saw a number of Fleet Society members in attendance. In addition to Fleet Society Director John Pullin (a.k.a. Santa Fe Santa), Tom Uram (Member #23) and Bob Evans (Member #78), were present. Tom, who is President of the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN) and a member of the Citizens
Here is an interesting story from Fleet Society Director John Pullin who recently attended the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Chicago. Our Director (see photo below) was having dinner when (in his own words) this occurred: “I went to a brew pub in Chicago for an early dinner. There was a mother, father and
As we have all witnessed, the last 18 months have exhibited a dramatic increase in the prices collectors and investors have paid for quality coins. This phenomena is not only visible in the numismatic arena but appears across the various collectible venues. To gain a perspective as it applies to the numismatic communities, I enclose
When the Real Eight Company opened its museum in Cape Canaveral (1968) they sold a number of interesting souvenirs in the gift shop. Among the items for sale were these post cards. You don’t see many post cards today but if you do see one of these we would suggest that you buy it as
