This listing is for:
1772 - 1783 Mexico El Cazador 1 Real Silver Shipwreck Coin
NGC Certified Genuine
with Card
Genuine Authentic El Cazador Salvage Coin
On January 11, 1784, the Spanish brigantine of war El Cazador sailed from Vera Cruz,
Mexico to New Orleans carrying 480,000 pesos of newly minted silver coins.
The King of Spain, Carlos III (1759-1788, had intended the immense cargo of silver coins on board El Cazador to be used to redeem the nearly
worthless Spanish paper currency then in circulation in Spanish-owned Louisiana.
El Cazador never made its destination.
The vessel and her crew sank into the winter seas, disappearing without a trace.
Without these silver coins to solidify the Spanish monetary system in colonial North America,
the King of Spain was forced to sell or trade Louisiana. I
The demise of the El Cazador changed the course of U.S. history.
On August 2, 1993, the wrecksite of El Cazador was discovered
by Captain Jerry Murphy of the fishing vessel "Mistake",
209 years after sinking into the ocean.
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