Escudo

The historic 1715 Fleet Shipwreck holds legendary status among maritime disasters. This catastrophe occurred on the eastern coast of Florida on July 31, 1715, when Spanish ships laden with treasure met their end.

The Fleet's Departure

The Spanish fleet set sail from Havana, Cuba, aiming to return to Spain. Altogether, the ships carried a vast fortune of gold, silver, and precious gems. In fact, the treasure's estimated worth was millions of pesos, and the ships formed a crucial part of Spain's colonial wealth.

The Storm That Changed History

A violent hurricane struck the fleet off the coast of Florida without warning. The ships struggled against fierce winds and waves, but the fleet

Gold Cob collectors didn't learn the true story of the failed gold mint at Cuzco (1698-99) until 1964. For years, the truth was hidden in the Mint archives of Spain and Peru.

Prior to 1964 only one 1698 C M Peru 2 Escudos was known to exist. Hence, the 2 Escudo was under extreme scrutiny and reputed as being a fake. Consequently, after the recovery of the 1715 Fleet, everything changed. Most importantly, a small quantity of 1698 C M Peru 2 Escudos were discovered. This totally vindicated the one 1698 coin previously found. In conclusion, it was indeed very real and not a fake. In fact, it was a one year type only struck in Cuzco, Peru. 

The truth revealed that the Cuzco

A common question we get is "What is a Spanish Escudo coin?" The Escudo was and is Spanish currency. Escudos comes in both gold and silver. Interestingly, the first Escudo gold coins were introduced in 1535/1537. They were issued in denominations of ¹⁄₂, 1, 2, 4 and 8 Escudos. In addition, the 2 Escudos coins were commonly known as Doubloons and worth 16 reales.

Gold Escudos were issued until 1833. They are beautiful coins with great attention to detail. As a result, these gold coins from Spain in the 1790’s have remarkable eye appeal. Today's coin collectors and investors

Mexico first declared Independence from Spain in 1810. To clarify, this happened on September 16th, 1810. Before then this area was more commonly referred to as New Spain. The declaration of Independence led to a 11 year war against Spain. Unfortunately, it wasn't until August 24, 1821 that Spain finally recognized Mexico's Independence.

This was the dawn of the once New Spain turning into the new Mexican Empire. Gone were the days of the Spanish Catholic monarchy. A new federal republic was finally declare and by 1924 they codified Mexico's new Constitution. It is important to note, there were some reattempts by Spain to re-concur New Spain. However, by 1836 Isabella II and Spain finally fully recognized Mexico's independence.