1986.008.2290
Silver Bar
Physical Object
1986.008.2290
Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)
circa 1622
This silver ingot was being shipped to Spain on Atocha by a D. de Leon to A. Sierra. Large marks – a combined IEZ and a stamped D – are likely their personal symbols. A central “scoop” on the face of the ingot is a characteristic of ingots produced at Potosí. The scoop was made by the assayer when he sampled the silver to determine the ingot’s purity. A small set of Roman numerals reads IIUCCCX, or 2310, indicating the silver was found to be 2310 parts of pure silver out of 2400. The ingot bears the large Roman numeral IIIUCLXXXI (3181), indicating it was the 344th silver bar produced at the Andean mining center in its unknown year of production. Two circular, shield-style stamps indicate the 20% tax was paid to the crown on the value of the silver.