Gold cash recovered from the “world’s richest shipwreck”, the Spanish galleon San José, have revealed 300-year-old imagery together with castles, lions, and a Jerusalem cross variation. Found off Colombia’s Caribbean coast, the cash affirm the wreck’s identification and supply a vivid glimpse into early 18th-century Spanish colonial wealth. The San José sank in 1708 throughout a battle with British warships, whereas loaded with as many as 200 tons of treasure now price an estimated $17 billion. The brand new data relies on the high-definition ROV imagery lately revealed in Antiquity, which reveals the cash amongst the wreckage at a depth of virtually 2,000 ft.

Colonial Gold Cash from San José Shipwreck Confirmed to Originate from Peru’s Lima Mint in 1707

As per a report from Stay Science, the examine was led by researchers from Colombia’s navy and the Institute of Anthropology and Historical past. The evaluation confirmed that the cash got here from the Lima mint, bearing Jerusalem-style crosses and the “Topped Pillars of Hercules above the ocean”, linking them to Peru’s colonial coin-minting custom and to the ill-fated San José galleon, utilizing colonial information.

The shipwreck’s treasure discovered by Colombia in 2015 has led to worldwide authorized battles, as Spain lays declare beneath maritime legislation. Colombia has not signed the treaty and plans to exhibit objects in a museum, however it could be legally prevented from promoting objects.

Research lead creator Daniela Vargas Ariza described the cash as “macuquinas”—hand-cut, irregular colonial foreign money that when circulated extensively within the Americas. Each bit measured round 1.3 inches in diameter and weighed roughly 27 grams. Researchers discovered dozens of such cash embedded amongst cargo and weapons stays from the galleon’s remaining voyage.

The San José exploded and sank after its gunpowder ignited throughout a cannon battle with British forces amid the Warfare of the Spanish Succession. Just a few ships within the Spanish fleet escaped, however the San José’s wreck now provides a singular archaeological window into colonial naval historical past and black-market economies of the time.