800 Year Old Chinese Shipwreck Includes 6000 Coins
tyler267
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BEIJING - After 800 years at the bottom of the sea, a merchant ship loaded with porcelain and other rare antiques was raised to the surface Friday in a specially built basket, a state news agency reported.
The Nanhai No. 1, which means "South China Sea No. 1," sank off the south China coast with some 60,000 to 80,000 items on board, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Wu Jiancheng, head of the excavation project.
Archaeologists built a steel basket around the 100-foot vessel, and it took about two hours for a crane to lift the ship and surrounding silt to the surface, Xinhua said. The basket was as large as a basketball court and as tall as a three-story building.
Green-glazed porcelain plates and shadowy blue porcelain items were among rare antiques found during the initial exploration of the ship. Archaeologists have also recovered containers made of gold and silver as well as about 6,000 copper coins.
The ship dates from the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It was discovered in 1987 off the coast near the city of Yangjiang, in Guangdong province, in more than 65 feet of water.
The Nanhai No. 1 was placed on a waiting barge. It will be deposited in a huge glass pool at a museum where the water temperature, pressure and other environmental conditions are the same as where it has lain on the sea bed.
Feng Shaowen, head of the Yangjiang city cultural bureau, said visitors will be able watch the excavation of the ship through windows on the pool.
The recovery of the Nanhai No. 1 was originally scheduled for Saturday, but organizers decided to raise it a day early because of favorable weather.
The Nanhai No. 1, which means "South China Sea No. 1," sank off the south China coast with some 60,000 to 80,000 items on board, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Wu Jiancheng, head of the excavation project.
Archaeologists built a steel basket around the 100-foot vessel, and it took about two hours for a crane to lift the ship and surrounding silt to the surface, Xinhua said. The basket was as large as a basketball court and as tall as a three-story building.
Green-glazed porcelain plates and shadowy blue porcelain items were among rare antiques found during the initial exploration of the ship. Archaeologists have also recovered containers made of gold and silver as well as about 6,000 copper coins.
The ship dates from the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It was discovered in 1987 off the coast near the city of Yangjiang, in Guangdong province, in more than 65 feet of water.
The Nanhai No. 1 was placed on a waiting barge. It will be deposited in a huge glass pool at a museum where the water temperature, pressure and other environmental conditions are the same as where it has lain on the sea bed.
Feng Shaowen, head of the Yangjiang city cultural bureau, said visitors will be able watch the excavation of the ship through windows on the pool.
The recovery of the Nanhai No. 1 was originally scheduled for Saturday, but organizers decided to raise it a day early because of favorable weather.
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Comments
<< <i>more fake dollars are coming to America.... >>
Yeah, I forgot, America was around 800 years ago.
TD
I wonder if all the coins are Northern Song. I'll bet they are all pretty common.
<< <i>This joke about fake coins at Chinese archaeological sites just funnier everytime I hear it. [sarcasm]
I wonder if all the coins are Northern Song. I'll bet they are all pretty common. >>
Hey, a country with no morals or ethical standards about selling fakes deserves to be mocked and scorned. If they don't like it, they can clean up their act.
<< <i>
<< <i>This joke about fake coins at Chinese archaeological sites just funnier everytime I hear it. [sarcasm]
I wonder if all the coins are Northern Song. I'll bet they are all pretty common. >>
Hey, a country with no morals or ethical standards about selling fakes deserves to be mocked and scorned. If they don't like it, they can clean up their act. >>
more phony coins on Ebay?
<< <i>
<< <i>This joke about fake coins at Chinese archaeological sites just funnier everytime I hear it. [sarcasm]
I wonder if all the coins are Northern Song. I'll bet they are all pretty common. >>
Hey, a country with no morals or ethical standards about selling fakes deserves to be mocked and scorned. If they don't like it, they can clean up their act. >>
Then I assume you would mock and scorn the United States because of all the dishonest American ebay sellers.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>This joke about fake coins at Chinese archaeological sites just funnier everytime I hear it. [sarcasm]
I wonder if all the coins are Northern Song. I'll bet they are all pretty common. >>
Hey, a country with no morals or ethical standards about selling fakes deserves to be mocked and scorned. If they don't like it, they can clean up their act. >>
Then I assume you would mock and scorn the United States because of all the dishonest American ebay sellers. >>
That's what I was thinking. Although the counterfeit problem in China is definitely rampant, calling 1/5 of the world's population "immoral" is simply wrong. Counterfeits and misepresentations are common all over the world. It bothers me that only China is being singled out by cheap shots and broad stereotypes.
It seems like CaptHenway in particular definitely has a chip on his shoulders when it comes to China and the Chinese. It's all cheap shots and blanket remarks from him with nothing positive in return.
source of fakes is very correct. This is a just
charge and very true of US bullion coins.
The Trade Dollar series has been totally corrupted.
http://www.coinworld.com/news/102802/news-3.asp
<< <i>I'm sure there were a few 1066-CC Trade Dollars on the wreck..........
TD >>
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
<< <i>
<< <i>I'm sure there were a few 1066-CC Trade Dollars on the wreck..........
TD >>
Edited to say I didn't know china had any archeologists that were actually working, nor did I know that they had the capabilities to raise up a ship in that manner, I got to believe a foreign country was subcontracted out. Just think the Chinese crane falls apart because it was made out of plastic with incorrect specs in China etc. >>
That's just an ignorant statement. I have no love loss for China believe me, but that's just an idiotic statement.
<< <i><STRONG>Anyone pointing a finger to China as a major
source of fakes is very correct. This is a just
charge and very true of US bullion coins.
The Trade Dollar series has been totally corrupted.
</STRONG><a href="http://www.coinworld.com/news/102802/news-3.asp">http://www.coinworld.com/news/102802/news-3.asp</A> >>
I don't dipsute the claim that many, many fake coins are produced in China. There are some series that are so commonly counterfeited that I've seen more fake than real. Even so, I don't see any reason to blame China in its entirety.
Collecting:
Conder tokens
19th & 20th Century coins from Great Britain and the Realm