SPECIAL ON SALE-MARKED DOWN 1 Real 1783 Salvaged Coin

While this is a salvage coin acquired along with several 1/2 reales coins from the famous El Cazador shipwreck. This coin is dated 1783, the year before the El Cazador
sunk en route from Vera Cruz Mexico to New Orleans.

The ship was loaded with nearly a half million silver coins, intended to provide economic stability in Spain's Louisiana territory. Circulating paper money had no hard asset backing and the Spanish crown felt the influx of silver coinage would solve the problem. But the ship never reached New Orleans and after months of searching the ship was given up for lost....and it stayed that way for more than two centuries until it was discovered by a fisherman. When the fishing trawler nets hit a snag they were brought up. There were no fish and no rocks or wood in the net--just dozens of silver coins.

This coin shows no encrustation but does have a chip at about 3:30 as can be seen on the obvere. Despite the year and it being included in a group of identified El Cazador coins it shows wear but not consistent with the other El Cazador coins. It may well have been salvaged in 1784 also but does not come with a certificate that it came specifically from the El Cazador.