Gold Bar

Accession Number2004.006.0001

VesselBuen Jesús (1622)

Datecirca 1622

DescriptionA small gold ingot recovered from the wreck of the 1622 ship Buen Jesus (aka Seahawk I) sunk south of the Dry Tortugas in the Straits of Florida during the same hurricane that took the galleons Atocha and Santa Margarita. The bar is stamped twice on its upper face with the Roman numerals XXI, indicating that it is 21 karat gold. This piece is only a portion of the original bar, as it shows a chop score on the underside, at which point it was broken. Dimensions:12.3 cm L x 3.5 cm W x 1.4 cm H x 650.8 grams.