Accession Number

1986.008.0078

Alternate object names

Gold Ingot;Gold;Bar;Ingot

Description

A short gold ingot from the wreck of the 1622 galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. This ingot is stamped with a bold XXIII••, symbolizing that it is 23 1/2 karat gold, or nearly pure. There is another mark - 148-7 - that indicates the weight of the bar in Spanish castellanos. Interestingly, this bar bears no tax stamps, suggesting it was being shipped outside of the official system and an example of contraband treasure. Dimensions: 12.2 cm L x 2.6 cm W x 1.6 cm Thick x 682.1 grams.

Exhibition Label

Case/Object Caption (2023):

Gold Bars
Gold (Peru, c.1620)
Gifts of Jamestown Inc., Mel and Dolores Fisher, Museum Acquisition Fund
1985.007.0001a, 1986.003.0004, 1986.008.0048, 1986.008.0078, 2004.006.0001

Gold bars were being carried aboard the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the Santa Margarita, and the Buen Jesus, as well as other ships in the fleet. These are called “finger bars” because the assayer would simply draw his finger through wet sand and then pour molten gold into the shallow trough he had made.

Gold was subject to tax and most of the bars bear crescent-shaped stamps that indicate that the king had been paid his 20% levy. However, smuggling was an issue. Those bars with no tax marks are likely to have been contraband. Sidestepping the royal tax was too tempting for some to avoid!
Previous Case Caption (Removed 2022):

Gold Bullion 20.5 – 23.75 Karats
Recovered from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, Santa Margarita & Buen Jesus
Gift of Jamestown Treasure Salvors, Inc. & acquired through donation.

Ingots are marked with a variety of stamps, including circular tax stamps, mintmarks, Roman numerals to signify the purity of the gold in karats, and Arabic numerals denoting their weight. Marks are located in several areas on the ingots so that when they were cut to a desired weight the pieces would still bear some portion of the official stamps. According to their manifests, the Atocha carried 125 gold ingots, discs and bits, and the Santa Margarita had 34 pieces. Over 220 ingots have been recovered from these ships to date, suggesting at least 60 pieces were contraband. Smuggled ingots bear no tax stamps only Roman and Arabic numerals. There are two in this case. Can you find them?