1987.004.0001
Silver Bar
Physical Object
1987.004.0001
Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)
This silver ingot was being shipped to Spain on Atocha by a person named A. de Aguirre to H. de Almonte. Large marks – a conjoined “AGE” and an “H3” – 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 IIUCCCLXXX, or 2380, indicating the silver was found to be 2380 parts of pure silver out of 2400. The ingot bears the large Roman numeral VUII (5002), indicating it was the 5002nd silver bar produced at the Andean mining center in its unknown year of production. Circular, shield-style stamps indicate the 20% tax was paid to the crown on the value of the silver. Two V’s at either end of the bar are the marks of Atocha silver master Jacobo de Vreder, indicating he registered it on board the galleon. The bar is flatter and less hefty than most on Atocha.