A collection within a collection, Elizabeth Sarah's most recent design includes replicas of the Atocha coin featured in 24kt electroplated gold, sterling silver, nickel, bronze, as well as gunmetal designs.
As Floridians, our team is so excited to share these treasures with all of you, as they are a true part of history mixed with our take on art, design and fashion.
Before we dish about our latest and most unique design to date, we just want to give a little insight into the history and significance of the Atocha coin.
Before America was colonized, Spain was busy expanding and colonizing Central and South America and harvesting the local products such as tobacco and coffee. With so much growing trade, many ships also carried an abundance of silver and gold to and from the New World.
Spain sent two fleets a year to these colonies between 1561 and 1748, following the approximate route Columbus had taken years before and making stops in places like Panama, Colombia, Cuba and many of the Caribbean islands we're familiar with today.
The two biggest threats to these Spanish ships were pirates and hurricanes. In order to defend themselves from onboard attacks, the fleets were accompanied by the 110 foot galleon, Nuestra Señora de Atocha. As far as hurricanes were concerned, knowing the timing of hurricane season and trying to avoid it were the best the sailors could do.
As a military escort, the Atocha carried an entire company of 82 infantrymen to defend the vessel from attack and possible enemy boarding. For this reason, she was the ship of choice for wealthy passengers and carried an extraordinarily large percentage of the fleet's treasure.
On a particular voyage back to Spain from the Caribbean, the Atocha received an additional cargo load of treasure, much of it gold and rare first year production silver from the recently established mints in Colombia.
As history turns out, the Atocha sank off the coast of the Florida keys, its men and treasure along with it.
An out of the blue hurricane was the cause of its defeat. However, much of the ship was still able to be recovered until a second hurricane came along when salvagers were in Havana, Cuba obtaining proper equipment to gather the Atocha's remains, and wiped it clear off the map for years to come.
It wasn't until Mel Fisher piqued an interest in scuba (which wasn't revolutionized until 1942) and the hunt for Spanish treasure off the coast of Florida, that he formed a company called Treasure Salvors.
This ultimately led to the discovery of the Atocha and another ship from the Spanish fleet with the same misfortune, on July 20, 1985.
While the original coins range in the upwards of thousands of dollars, we at Elizabeth Sarah Collections wanted a way to share these ocean treasures with our customers. The fact that we consider the shark teeth and seaglass of the Shoreline Collection our own personal treasures, we thought the Atocha Coin would be the perfect compliment to this collection.
The replicas that our team has produced are made with high quality material and are designed in small batches to preserve the integrity, individuality and nature of the original Atocha coins.
Tell us your favorite Atocha style!
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