Mexico, Charles III, 8 Réales, 1783ff, El Cazador Shipwreck, Mexico City (KM 106.2). Saltwater corrosion, obverse largely illegible, otherwise fine, rare [Graded by NGC as GENUINE] £100-£120

The El Cazador was a small but incredibly important ship in the history of Colonial America. Holding a cargo of 450,000 Pesos worth of silver coin - the majority of which were freshly minted in Mexico - she was destined for New Orleans, Louisiana, with the goal of investing into the small Spanish settlements along the southern coast of the region. The ship never arrived, however, having sank in a storm in mid-January 1784. The loss of such a colossal fund led to the Spanish government effectively writing off the colony economically, ultimately exchanging it for land in Tuscany under the 1801 Treaty of Aranjuez. Two years later, France would sell the land as part of the Louisiana Purchase, changing the direction of American history forever.

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