1701-1714-SF Colombia Gold 2 Escudos PCGS MS-63 "1715 Fleet"

This Charles III Pretender gold Cob 2 Escudos (1700–1714), graded MS63 by PCGS from the Santa Fe de Nuevo Reino mint (Cal-Type 242, Restrepo-Type M66, Fr-4a, 6.76g), boasts brilliant central details. Struck during the War of the Spanish Succession under the influence of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, who briefly ruled parts of Spain as Charles III, this coin reflects Catalonia’s allegiance to him until 1714, when he left for Vienna to assume the imperial crown, ceding Spain to Philip V.

Often mistaken as a posthumous Charles II issue, this piece embodies the era’s political turmoil and numismatic rarity. The coin’s historical context ties to the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet, a convoy of 12–13 ships carrying vast wealth from the Nueva España and Tierra Firme fleets. On July 30, 1715, a hurricane off Florida’s coast sank most of the fleet, claiming 1,000 lives and 14 million pesos in registered cargo, plus unrecorded contraband.

The disaster, one of history’s costliest maritime losses, scattered gold and silver cobs, jewels, and porcelain across the seabed. Spanish salvage efforts recovered nearly half the official cargo, but the wrecks lay largely untouched until the 1960s, when Florida’s Kip Wagner, inspired by a “piece of eight” found on a beach, used maps, metal detectors, and a small plane to locate the sites, founding the Real Eight Company.

The Real Eight team’s discoveries, including 10,000 gold cobs and over 100,000 silver cobs, unveiled previously unknown numismatic treasures from mints in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, primarily dated 1711–1715, with some from the 1600s. These finds transformed rare gold cobs into coveted collector’s items. Ongoing salvage operations continue to seek the remaining five or six lost ships, promising further discoveries. Notably, the 1715 Fleet’s loss influenced global trade, weakening Spain’s economy, while artifacts like this coin offer a tangible link to the era’s maritime and imperial ambitions.

Product ID	555857
Year	1701-1714
Mint Mark	SF
Strike	MS
Grade	MS-63
Variety	"1715 Fleet"
Grading Agency	PCGS
Specification properties	No
Serial	47043456
Status	Active
Designation	-
Additional Info	-