GOLD PIECES FROM THE TUMBAGA WRECK
The following nine lots are possibly the earliest examples known of an attempt by the first Spanish settlers of the New World to create a useable form of local currency from American gold. Without the tools to make even crude coinage, and without the legal right to coin either gold or silver, the conquistadores naturally resorted pieces of specie as currency. The tiny pieces of gold discovered among the Tumbaga cargo, neatly cut and with a clear stamp on even the smallest piece, are unique items of great numismatic interest.
A GOLD CUT PIECE, approximately 1½in .x. 3/4in. (40mm. x 20mm.), of rectangular form, 2.768oz. (86.1g.), one stamp, letter C in a square, in the centre, some encrustation at one end
Details
A GOLD CUT PIECE, approximately 1½in .x. 3/4in. (40mm. x 20mm.), of rectangular form, 2.768oz. (86.1g.), one stamp, letter C in a square, in the centre, some encrustation at one end