"V" Die Stamp Physical Object


Accession Number
1986.008.0918
Category
Alternate object names
Die Stamp;Stamp
Creation Date
circa 1620
Materials
Description
A hand-held, iron stamp from the wreck of the galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. The flat head was struck with a hammer to drive the hardened steel character into whatever was being marked. This stamp is a “V”. It is thought that this was the mark of the Atocha’s captain and silvermaster, Jacomo de Vreder, who used it used to mark silver ingots loaded onto the ship, denoting that he had registered them. This piece has an overall length of 12.5 centimeters.
Dimensions

12.5 x 1.9 x 1.8 cm

Exhibition Label
Case Caption (2023):

COUNTING CARGO

Jacopo de Vreder was the silver master aboard the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. It was his job to make certain that the cargo was accurately accounted for, royal duties on it were collected, and that everything, including the passengers and the goods that they were transporting, was safely stowed. His written manifest traveled with the ship, but a copy would sail aboard another vessel, so that his record would get to Spain, even if his ship did not.

De Vreder recorded the silver bars individually and stamped each one with his initial, “V.” Other cargoes were listed by weight.

The inventory included:
Silver Bars – 1038, 30 tons, about 70lbs each
Silver Coins – about 200,000, loaded in chests
Gold Bars, Bits and Discs – 161, with a total weight of 3,462 oz.
Copper Ingots – 582, totaling 15 tons
Silverware – 1,200 lbs.
Tobacco – 525 bales, about 25 tons
Indigo – 350 chests
Object Caption (2023):

De Vreder’s “V” Stamp
Steel (c.1615)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0918