Own A Piece of History

Soon after Christopher Columbus made his first expedition to the New World, Spanish ships began transporting treasure from the New World to Spain. The ships naturally became targets for pirates, who made often-successful attacks on the new ships due to their larger crews and artillery. The pirates’ reputations and purposefully-designed flags terrified the Spanish, leading them to surrender to the pirates much of the time. After the success of so many pirate attacks, the Spanish were forced to design a system consisting of armed galleons travelling in fleets for protection. There were two fleets each year; the most famous fleets included the 1622 and 1715 Treasure Fleets. In the 1622 Treasure Fleet, a hurricane caused an entire fleet of ships to sink, which included the famous Atocha. Pirates began to become more and more of a problem, so much that before the 1715 Treasure Fleet, the fleets were cancelled for two years. On the way back to Europe in the 1715 Treasure Fleet, another hurricane struck which sunk all eleven ships and caused more than 700 sailors' deaths. Although pirates attacked on sea during this time, when Spanish settlers began settling in the Caribbean islands, pirates also attacked their towns. The treasure claimed by the Spanish and carried by these fleets included one-of-a-kind silver and gold coins. Modern treasure hunting techniques led to the salvage of many of these coins, mostly those associated with the Atocha. These coins represent an amazing piece of history. Order your affordable Spanish Coin Replica today!