We are indeed privileged to present our Treasure of the Month for March. This assortment of treasure was found during the 2024 dive season by Mike Perna and his crew of the Mighty Mo. Our treasure features encrusted silver coins, a ceramic jug, brass keys, musket balls, pottery, and the remains of a box (more about the box later). Although not all found together, this grouping makes for an attractive picture.
According to Mike Perna, Captain of the Mighty Mo, a number of these encrusted coins were one reales and half reales. Many of the coins were left as found and make for an interesting assemblage as encrusted coins are very popular among collectors. Here are some other examples of encrusted coins found by Grant Gitschlag and Mike Penninger during the 2024 dive season. Although not part of this group they are interesting, nevertheless.
The vase pictured in the header image is a fascinating find. Unlike many of the thick, heavy earthenware vessels recovered on Fleet wreck sites, this item has a very unique construction. According to Sal Guttuso, Director of Operations for 1715 Fleet — Queens Jewels LLC, this vessel is extremely thin and delicate, much like the Chinese export porcelain that is sometimes found intact by divers. Also, it has a glaze which, again, is not commonly found with earthenware jars. The pictured object (below) is likely Chinese export porcelain with a Batavia brown glaze.
Batavia ware vases were developed in China during the Kangxi period (1661-1722) and were very popular in Europe through the mid-18th century. The name comes from the Dutch East India Company’s trading center in Batavia, which is now Jakarta, Indonesia.
The brown glaze on Batavia ware was made from iron oxide and was sometimes called Capuchin or café au lait. The brown glaze was often used with blue and white, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, and Imari decorations.
Batavia was popular among wealthy Europeans. The Dutch imported large amounts of Batavia ware in the early 18th century, so it would not surprise us that there was some Batavia ware on a 1715 Fleet ship. The East Indiaman Gotheborg (1745) was found to have a significant proportion of Batavia-style decorated porcelain in its cargo.
To ascertain with certainty that this item is Batavia ware will require personal study of the vessel. As such, we will be making arrangements for this to take place.
A matched set of brass keys was also part of the treasures recovered in 2024.
In the past, not many keys have been recovered. Those that were found were mostly silver. These brass keys were discovered together with a hoard of two reales. Did these keys belong to a chest containing coins? We will never know, but it is a most intriguing thought.
The box seen in our header image is likely the most interesting item found. It bears a resemblance to the box that we featured as our Treasure of the Month for June 2018. This box (see below) was found by divers working for the Real Eight CompanyAlso referred to occasionally as “The Real 8 Company”- was incorporated in 1961. It had eight members….Kip Wagner, Kip Kelso, Dan Thompson, Harry Cannon, Lou Ullian, Del Long, Erv Taylor and Lis... More on July 24, 1965, two miles south of the Sebastian Inlet (The Cabin Wreck site). It is only one of two treasure chests found on the 1715 Fleet. The box appears to be made of pine or cypress.
This month’s featured box appears to be roughly 18” x 18” square and approximately 7” – 8” tall.
To determine just exactly what this is (another treasure box or something else) will require a bit more research. Nonetheless, this box and all of its contents make for a truly exceptional Treasure of the Month.
Special thanks to Sal Guttuso, Operations Director for 1715 Fleet — Queens Jewels LLC, who provided the images and information that was used in this post. Also, thanks to Captain Mike Perna, who choreographed the photo used as our header image and also provided information used in this post.
