Ballast Stone with Coin Physical Object


Accession Number
1986.008.0743a
Creation Date
circa 1620
Materials
Description
An angular piece of limestone with silver coins comes from the wreck of the 1622 galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. The bottom of Atocha’s hold was filled with stone ballast, which made the ship bottom-heavy. This mass acted as a counterweight to the force of the wind in the sails, allowing the ship to remain upright and move forward instead of flipping. Many tons of ballast stones were found at the site of the galleon’s cargo hold when it was discovered in 1985. But Atocha’s cargo of treasure was heavy, too, and also used as ballast. Nearly 40 tons of silver bars and coins, along with 15 tons of copper ingots were stored deep in the hold, alongside the stones. When Atocha wrecked some of the treasure and stones mixed. Here we have ten silver coins that spilled from a broken chest, the marine encrustation formed by the corroding metal then fused them to the ballast stone they fell on. The stone is approximately 16 x 8 x 9 centimeters.
Dimensions

17.7 x 12.8 x 7.9 cm