My first silver dollar not minted in the USA...

3keepSECRETif2rDEAD

...but since it was legal tender in the USA till 1857...I'll post it here

I have no idea wether or not I got ripped off, don't really care much either...I was watching The Goonies with my oldest daughter and had my iPad in hand and looked up shipwreck coins on eBay....caught this one with 3 min left at auction and let her rip. I paid $163.49 shipped, How did I do???









...thanks for looking and looking forward to getting the truth out of the board

TopographicOceans

Those are very cool and everybody should have one.

You didn't get ripped off, but perhaps paid an "impulse premium".
I bought mine on eBay last year from caz-10 who is a big seller of these.
Mine was $102.50 delivered. Yours looks nicer than mine though.

The Pillars of Hercules on the reverse are the source of the US dollar sign ($) (though some will cite other sources) so you get an extra story with the coin.
Another theory is that the dollar sign was derived from or inspired by the mint mark on the Spanish pieces of eight that were minted in Potosí (in present day Bolivia). The mint mark, composed of the letters "PTSI" superimposed, bears a strong resemblance to the single-stroke dollar sign. The mark, which appeared on silver coins minted from 1573 to 1825 in Potosí, the largest mint during the colonial period, would have been widely recognized throughout the North American colonies.

Alternatively, the $ symbol derives from the scroll on the pillar, on the reverse of the "pillar dollar" variety of pieces of eight

GrumpyEd

Neat.

I like the story of how "The Mistake" hauled up a net full off them.
I remember they thought they could recover half a million coins, not sure what the final count was or how many were sold.

FullStrike

I got mine a few years ago for $87.00. I think it was the inspiration for the HOF $1.00 - it's a bit concave - looks as if it was
pried off a lump of coins- maybe.

asheland

Mexican coins are very cool!
I like it!

coinhack

You did ok. That is a very high end coin as El Caz coins go. Most of the coins were uncirculated, as yours appears to be. The wearing away is from the salt water. You can see the so-called shipwreck effect around the obverse rims. Most of the El Caz coins are much worse. Many have worn down to where the dates are unreadable. These are much more common and still sell for around $50. The story of the El Cazador itself is very fascinating.

Needless to say, I like your coin.

jedm

Very neat piece of history, I like it! Sounds like you didn't overpay since it's in such nice shape.

TwoSides2aCoin

nice

JohnnyCache

Very nice, I love Reales and Escudos.

Congrats!

Sonorandesertrat

I also think you did OK as far as the price for that coin is concerned. The El Cazador shipwreck yielded many coins upon salvage, and this adds to the historical interest. Think about getting other pieces too, like cut coins and smaller denominations (especially a pistareen). It is also interesting that currency was commonly issued by the British colonies in denominations of Spanish colonial reales.

luckybucks

Very nice :c)

JamesW

I got these a few years ago at the coin show in Pittsburgh

asheland

Burrito money

lordmarcovan

I had a 1783 from the El Cazador wreck once. Not as nasty as some, but nowhere near as nice as yours. I paid less than a hundred bucks for mine, but this was several years ago.

It's such a fascinating tale, how that wreck came to be found. Pieces of eight have a real aura of romance to 'em, and so do shipwreck coins. This covers both bases.