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Silver "piña" ingot, 5335 grams, XRF tested at 99% silver, ex-Atocha (1622), with original Mel Fishe

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Shipwreck Ingots Start Price:12,000.00 USD Estimated At:15,000.00 - 22,500.00 USD
Silver  piña  ingot, 5335 grams, XRF tested at 99% silver, ex-Atocha (1622), with original Mel Fishe
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Silver "piña" ingot, 5335 grams, XRF tested at 99% silver, ex-Atocha (1622), with original Mel Fisher poster. 7¼" tall, 3½" to 5½" in diameter, with 2½" cylindrical hole in center. This is only the third ingot of this very rare type that we have seen from the Atocha in a class known as "piñas" for their cored-pineapple shape. The "patio" refining process, invented in Mexico in the mid-1500s by Bartolomé de Medina as a method for separating silver from its ore by amalgamation with mercury (quicksilver), describes "piña" ingots like this one as the final step where the silver was heated in bell-shaped molds with central rods. At that stage, most of these ingots were melted down into typically large, rectangular ingots and sent to the mint for coining; but since the mine owners usually needed money right away, some "piñas" were sold directly from the mine, which had to be the case here because neither end shows any markings, specifically fineness and tax stamps (hence not rated for Class Factor by Treasure Salvors like the big bars). The surfaces are not overly corroded, just a nice even silver color. Transitional form between mine and mint, this piña represents silver in its rawest and most authentic state, caught halfway between mountain and empire, just as handled by miners and assayers before official stamping.

Accompanying this ingot is an original (1970s-80s) poster for Treasure Salvors (Mel Fisher) and their "Pirate Treasure Ship and Museum of Sunken Treasure" on Margaret Street in Key West, featuring a full-sized replica galleon notoriously prone to sinking. From the Atocha (1622), with original Fisher plastic tag and photo-certificate 85A-0507-2, also with original Mel Fisher poster (11" x 14").