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Silver "tumbaga" bar #M-70, 10.39 lb (av.), marked with fineness iUiiiioL (1450/2400 = 60.4%), S, Yo

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Shipwreck Ingots Start Price:4,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
Silver  tumbaga  bar #M-70, 10.39 lb (av.), marked with fineness iUiiiioL (1450/2400 = 60.4%), S, Yo
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Silver "tumbaga" bar #M-70, 10.39 lb (av.), marked with fineness iUiiiioL (1450/2400 = 60.4%), S, YoBI3, iNo/DeBCA (rare), and two tax stamps, plated in The "Tumbaga" Saga, from the "Tumbaga wreck" (ca. 1528). 11-1/2" x 4-1/2" x 3/4". Of the approximately 200 "tumbaga" silver bars found, less than a dozen have this iNo/DeBCA sigla (possibly a monogram for Juan de Becerra, an encomendero who arrived in Mexico in 1526), which appears twice on this specimen (each occurrence showing complementary parts of the whole monogram). The S to the immediate left of the fineness is curiously linked to the gold bars from the same find. To the right of that appears YoBI3, which occurs on only 9 bars and most likely represents the name Juan Ibanes, a blacksmith who worked for Cortes in the mid-1520s (see page 63 of Tumbaga Saga for explanation). Only 7 bars have all three of the mysterious marks YoB13, S and iNo/DeBCA, making this a premium piece of significant value in unraveling the mysteries behind these bars. It is also one of the more tidy and attractive bars, with natural flow-lines on top and pebbly texture on bottom (no bad corrosion), nicely toned, with bias-cut assayer's "bite" in one corner, and of desirably medium size. From the "Tumbaga wreck" (ca. 1528), accompanied by the book Tumbaga Silver for Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire , by Douglas R. Armstrong (1993, original spiral-bound edition) and the book The "Tumbaga" Saga, by Agustin Garcia-Barneche (2010, autographed, with a photo of this bar on page 100), and pedigreed to the Bowers & Merena "Treasures of the World" auction of June, 2002.