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Triton XXV

Lot nuber 1211

LOW COUNTRIES. Treasure from the wreck of the Slot ter Hooge. Wrecked off the coast of Porto Santo, near Madiera, 19 November 1724. Two (2) silver bars and ten (10) silver coins.


Triton XXV
Lot: 1211.
 Estimated: $ 10 000

World, Silver

Sold For $ 14 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

LOW COUNTRIES. Treasure from the wreck of the Slot ter Hooge. Wrecked off the coast of Porto Santo, near Madiera, 19 November 1724. Two (2) silver bars and ten (10) silver coins.

MEXICO, Colonial. Felipe V. King of Spain, first reign, 1700-1724. AR 8 Reales. Uncertain mint and date. BW 15.7; KM 47. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 911 (part of)

MEXICO, Colonial. Felipe V. King of Spain, first reign, 1700-1724. AR 4 Reales. Uncertain mint and date. BW 14.6; KM 40. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 911 (part of)

SPANISH NETHERLANDS. Filips IV. 1621-1665.. AR Ducaton. Brussles (Bruxelles) mint. Dated 1640. G&H 327-3b; Delmonte, Argent 285. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 939

SPANISH NETHERLANDS. Karel II. 1665-1700. AR Ducaton. Antwerpen (Antwerp) mint. Dated 1674. G&H 348-1a (unlisted date); Delmonte, Argent Suppl. 325 (only one example cited). Extremely rare. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 949

SPANISH NETHERLANDS. Karel II. 1665-1700. AR Ducaton. Antwerpen (Antwerp) mint. Dated 1683. G&H 348-1b Delmonte, Argent 331. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 953

SPANISH NETHERLANDS. Filips V. AR Ducaton. Antwerpen (Antwerp) mint. Dated 1703. G&H 365-1c; Delmonte, Argent 354c. Illustrated in R. Sténuit, "The Treasure of Porto Santo," in National Geographic Magazine vol. 148, no. 2 (August 1975), p. 270-1. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 958

LUIK (LIEGE). Maximiliaan Hendrik van Beieren. 1650-1688. AR Ducaton. Datted 1674. Dengis 1105; Delmonte, Argent 473. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 960

SPANISH NETHERLANDS. Karel II. 1665-1700. AR Ducaton. Brugge (Brugges) mint. Dated 1673. G&H 348-4a; Delmonte, Argent 327. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 962.

DUTCH REPUBLIC, Overijssel. 1581-1795. Delmonte, Argent 1034. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 968

DUTCH REPUBLIC, Overijssel. 1581-1795. Delmonte, Argent 1035. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 969

DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY. AR 4 Livres Ingot. (132x40x47mm, 1954 g). VOC/ MC and rosette stamp. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 907

DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY. AR 4 Livres Ingot. (154x44x33mm, 1963 g). VOC/ MC and rosette stamp. Ex Elsen 112 (17 March 2012), lot 910.

. Grades from Fair to Good VF, all sea-salvaged. Two (2) silver bars and ten (10) silver coins in lot.

From the J. de Wilde Collection. Ex Elsen 115 (17 March 2012), various lots; Collection of Robert Sténuit, director of Groupe de Recherche Archéologique Sous-Marine Post Médiévale; 1724 Slot ter Hooge Wreck.

Ever since he was a young boy, J. de Wilde had dreamed of owning a piece of shipwrecked treasure. This dream was fulfilled when he acquired a number of coins and two important silver bars from the wreck of the Slot ter Hooge.

The Slot ter Hooge was a Dutch East Indiamen sailing from the Netherlands to Batavia, modern Jakarta, Indonesia, loaded with three tons of silver ingots and four chests of coins. On the night of 19 November 1724, the vessel encountered a severe gale off the coast of Portugal and, though the crew struggled mightily, she was dashed upon the rocks of the island of Porto Santo, near Madiera. Of the 254 men aboard, only 33 survived.

The powerful Dutch East India Company was not content to simply let tons of silver lie at the bottom of the ocean. Immediately after the wreck, guards were posted on the shore near the site to prevent looting, and the Bishop of Madeira threatened excommunication to anyone caught attempting to salvage. Over the next ten years, the English inventor John Lethbridge was contracted to dive the wreck. Using his “diving machine,” an airtight barrel with leather sleeves for his arms, the inventor was able to recover 90% of the treasure for the Company by 1734.

After this initial operation, the location of the Slot ter Hooge was lost. Beginning in 1967, Robert Sténuit and his organization, the Group de Recherche Archéologique Sous-Marine Post Médiévale, researched and documented European various shipwrecks. The Slot was a wreck of personal interest to Sténuit, but archival research came up blank – the records were lost, destroyed, or otherwise inaccessible among the millions of uncatalogued documents. Yet he was able to discover one important clue – a silver tankard once belonging to Lethbridge himself, engraved with a depiction of his diving machine and a map of Porto Santo. This information was enough to lead Sténuit directly to the wreck site and, in the spring of 1974, the Slot ter Hooge was rediscovered, a mere three minutes into his first dive.

The story of the 1974 rediscovery of the wreck and the recovery of the remaining treasure was featured in the August 1975 issue of National Geographic Magazine, and a copy of the magazine is included with the lot.

The coins and bars recovered from the Slot ter Hooge tell the story of both the Dutch and world economy of the early 18th century. They also, through their connection to John Lethbridge, form a tangible link to the earliest history of diving and underwater exploration.

The final winners of all Triton XXV lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 11-12 January 2022. Triton XXV – Session Four – Early Medieval & Islamic Coinage through Large Lots will be held Wednesday afternoon, 12 January 2022 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 22.50% for all others.

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