Silver Bar
Physical Object
1997.002.0003
Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)
circa 1622
This silver ingot was recovered from the wreck of the galleon Atocha, but it does not appear on the manifest. It bears three partial shield-style tax stamps and the “V” registry mark of Atocha silvermaster Jacobo de Vreder, all indicating it was not being smuggled. Its absence on the list is likely a clerical error, either in the original or the transcription of it. The face is marked near one end with an angled slash, the personal mark of Juan Delgado. Two unusual, well-struck “B” marks, along with a fainter “D,” are of unknown significance but imply some out of the ordinary purpose. 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. Another set of smaller roman numerals read IIUCCCL, showing the silver was 2350 parts pure silver of 2400. This silver ingot bears a larger Roman numeral IIIUDCLXIX (3669), meaning it was the 3669th silver bar produced at that Andean mining center in its year.