Watch List notes:

Small, thick, brick-like "tumbaga" silver bar #1128, 2395 grams, marked with assayer/owner B~Vo, serial RCxxx and fineness 9cccxxx (830/2400 = 34.6% fine), rare as uncleaned, from the "Tumbaga wreck" (ca. 1528). 6-3/4" x 3" x 1". This bar was among a handful that were sold at auction in 1993 prior to conservation, with some spots of coral encrustation on the top, the bottom more or less smooth and showing all the markings, boldly impressed but a little smoothed over, the serial number RCxxx and assayer B~Vo above the fineness 9cccxxx, which is rather low for such a visibly silver-looking bar and runs counter to the 68.7%-silver assay from A.A Gordus (deemed to be flawed as done from a surface sample before conservation). The assayer's "bite" appears on a top corner, as is typical for this somewhat standard shape among the "tumbaga" bars. Curiously to the right of the fineness is a rubbed-out spot that appears to have been a previous fineness marking in an earlier style, indication of re-assaying that is known to have occurred on many of these bars. Excellent pedigree. From the "Tumbaga wreck" (ca. 1528), and pedigreed to the Christie's (London) auction of April 28, 1993, with original lot-tag #272 and with original Gordus assay report from 1993 (also in the census on page 135 of Tumbaga Saga (2010), by Augi Garcia, and also pedigreed to the Thomas Gray collection and formerly displayed at the ANA Money Museum's "Treasures of the Deep" exhibit (2014-15), also pedigreed to our Auction #12, with original lot-tag #299.

Estimate: $5000 - 7500