Spain 1783 2 Reales El Cazador Shipwreck

The Spanish vessel El Cazador (Spanish for The Hunter) with its crew and tons of Spanish silver vanished during a winter night of January 1784 while en route from Vera Cruz Mexico to the port of New Orleans. All hands lost as a dark cold winter squall ended El Cazador's journey from Vera Cruz to New Orleans. Although unfortunate for the crew and Spain it was fortuitous for the United States. Had the vessel completed her journey Spain would have retained her hold on a large part of the new world. The loss of El Cazador ultimately meant US ownership of territories now known as the Louisiana purchase.

For over 200 years El Cazador's silver cache lay in a pile at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico until quite accidentally fisherman discovered the wreck in August 1993. Initially thought to be rocks clusters of coins spilled from the nets onto the deck of their boat. El Cazador's journey was alive again!

El Cazador is particularly significant since her mission had it been successful would have altered the dimensions of the United States and changed their course of history.

These coins were minted in Mexico City before 1784 and were part of El Cazador's cargo. Each coin is accompanied by certificate of origin and a tag signed by treasure salvager Craig A. Boyd.

The images of this coin is graded VF+