1999.007.0002
Silver Bar
Physical Object
1999.007.0002
Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)
The face of this silver ingot is marked in one corner with a corroded but distinct “A.” It also bears a rectangle containing “P1622,” the mark of Potosí and the year the ingot was cast. The A indicates the ingot was part of the crown’s annual one-fifth share of the silver from the Andean mining center. It was one of 133 such “A” bars being shipped on Atocha. A central “scoop” on the face of the ingot was made by the assayer when he sampled the silver to determine the ingot’s purity. Another set of smaller Roman numerals read IIUCC, showing the silver was 2200 parts pure silver of 2400. This silver ingot bears the Roman numeral CCCXI (311), meaning it was the 311th silver bar produced at Potosí in 1622. It also bears at least two shield-style tax stamps. Three hatch marks at one end of the face are of unknown significance.