Here we have a Rare 1698  Reale   which is probably the nicest one we ever found ! from this famous wreck . There are two dates , with the date on the cross side clearer than shown in the photo's  .It is 16mm across and weighs in at 1.4 gms.  I am afraid there are very few nice coins left from the salvage of this wreck especially reale 'Cobs' and there will not be any more coming up from the wreck  as it is now in the hands of the archaeologists because it has been falsely protected .This means that we no longer protect it and there have been  scavengers out there although we thoroughly salvaged it over 25 years so there is not too much left to find.   This was recovered  from the ASSOCIATION sunk 1707 on The Isles of Scilly in what turned out to be one of Britains worst maritime disaster due to the loss of life . The Association was the flagship Of Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell and was returning to England following a protracted period at sea.  They not only  come complete with a certificate of authenticity signed by us , the salvors and it also has  photo's of the coin which is numbered and  referenced to the certificate.( The coin shown on the pics is not this coin but it does show what the certificate will be like ) . PLUS a card showing the pair of us handing in some of the treasure and in a lovely presentation Box

 

ASSOCIATION and the death of Sr CLOWDISLEY SHOVELL

Scilly naval disaster of 1707 is an umbrella term  for the events of 22 October 1707 that led to the sinking of a British Naval Fleet off the Isles of Scilly. With four large ships and more than 1,400 sailors lost in stormy weather, it was one of the greatest maritime disasters in the history of the British Isles It was later determined that the main cause of the disaster was the navigators inability to accurately calculate their positions.

Background

In summer of 1707, during the War of Spanish Succession  a combined British, Austrian and Dutch force under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy besieged and attempted to take the French port of Toulon. During this campaign, which was fought from 29 July to 21 August, Great Britain dispatched a fleet to provide naval support. Led by the Commander-in-Chief of the British Fleets, Sir Cloudesley Shovell, the ships sailed to the Mediterranean, attacked Toulon and also managed to inflict damage on the French fleet caught in the siege. The overall campaign was nevertheless unsuccessful and the alliance was ultimately defeated by Franco-Spanish units. The British fleet was subsequently ordered to return home, and set sail from Gibraltar to Portsmouth in late October. The force under Shovell's command consisted of fifteen ships of the line (Association, Royal Anne, Torbay St George, , Swiftsure, Valeur as well as four fireships (Firebrand, Griffin, Phoenix Vulcan), the sloop Weasel and the yacht Isabella

Shovell's fleet of twenty-one ships left Gibraltar on 29 September, with HMS Association serving as his own flagship, HMS Royal Anne as flagship of ViceAdmiral of the Blue Sir George Byng and HMS Torbay as flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir John Norris The passage was marked by extremely bad weather and constant squalls and gales As the fleet sailed out on the Atlantic, passing the Bay of Biscay on their way to England, the weather worsened and storms gradually pushed the ships off their planned course. Finally, on the night of 22 October 1707 (Old Style, 2 November 1707 by the modern calendar), the squadron entered the mouth of the English Channel and Shovell's sailing masters believed that they were on the last leg of their journey. The fleet was thought to be sailing safely west of Ushant an island outpost off the coast of Brittany However, due to a combination of the bad weather and the mariners' inability to accurately calculate their longitude, the fleet was unaware that it was off course and closing in on the Isles of Scilly instead. Before their mistake could be corrected, the fleet struck rocks and four ships were lost:

·                    HMS Association, a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Edmund Loades, smashed into the Outer Gilstone Rock off Scilly?s Western Rocks at 8 p.m. and sank, drowning her entire crew of about 800 men and Admiral Shovell himself. Following behind the Association was St George whose crew saw the flagship go down in three or four minutes. St George also struck rocks and suffered damage but eventually managed to get off, as did HMS Phoenix which ran ashore between Tresco and but could be kept seaworthy.

 

·                    HMS Eagle, a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Robert Hancock hit the Tearing Ledge  and was lost with all hands  amongst the Western Rocks. Sinking a few hundred metres away from Bishop Rock, her wreck lies in a depth of 130 feet

·                    HMS Romney a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain William Coney, is recorded to have hit Bishop Rock and went down with all but one of her crew.This wreck was proven to be the EAGLE so the whereabouts of the Romney is still not proven .We are pretty sure the Romney is partially mixed with the Association wreckage with the remains in Pednathaise Head . We found a letter seal in this area which by the initials could only be from one of the Romneys' crew .The sole survivor from the three largest ships was George Lawrence, who had worked as a butcher before joining the crew of Romney as quartermaster.

·                    HMS Firebrand, a fireship commanded by Captain Francis Percy, smashed into the Outer Gilstone Rock like Association, but unlike the flagship she was lifted off by a huge wave. Percy managed to steer his badly damaged ship along the southern side of the Western Rocks between St Agnes and Annet, but she foundered in Smith Sound, sinking close to Menglow Rock and losing 28 of her crew of 40.

·                     

The exact number of officers, sailors and marines who were killed in the sinking of the four ships is unknown. Statements vary between 1,400 and over 2,000^, making it one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history. For days afterward, bodies continued to wash onto the shores of the isles along with the smashed wreckage of the warships and personal effects. Many dead sailors from the wrecks were buried on the island of St Agnes. Admiral Shovell's body, along with those of his two Narborough stepsons and his flag-captain, Edmund Loades, washed up on Porthellick Cove on St Mary's the following day, almost seven miles from where the Association was wrecked. A small memorial was later erected at this site. The circumstances under which the admiral's remains were found gave rise to stories (see below). Shovell was temporarily buried on the beach on St Mary'. By order of Queen Anne his body was later exhumed, embalmed and taken to London where he was interred in Westminster Abbey. His large marble monument in the south choir aisle was sculpted by Grinling Gibbons There is an impressive memorial depicting the sinking of the Association in the church at the Narboroughs' home of Knowlton near Dover.

After over 30 years of salvage English Heritage has decided to 'Protect 'this wreck although they refused to do so in 1973 when there was still some 'heritage' to be found.They did this on false information and lies so an Emergency Designation was issued . This means that there had to be no consultation about the truth of their reasoning and so far they have got away with it by decieving the Minister in charge We can only assume that it is part of their plan to control as much of the seabed as possible . This means of course that it will be left to the odd plunderer instead of any systematic salvage and no more of any interest will see the light of day. God bless them !