During the Golden Age of Piracy, Spain minted coins in silver and gold. Spanish money was originally minted by hand. The silver and gold was melted down and then poured out into thin strips. As the metal strips cooled they were beaten to desired thickness by hand. Then the coins were cut out to an approximate size. After this, the metal blank was placed in coin die (or stamp) and the top coin die was placed on top of the strip. Then the minter would strike the die with a hammer and the face and obverse (heads and tails) of the coin would be imbedded in the soft metal.
Finr Full 8 Gold Doubloon
After the coin was struck it would be weighed again and if it were over weight, small amounts of the metal would be nipped off. Later, a coin press was used. In this case the metal was placed between the two dies and they were pressed against the metal, cutting off the excess metal and making all the coins look pretty much the same.
The silver coins were known as Reales (Reals) and the gold coins, Escudos (Escudo). The famous “Piece of Eight” was an 8 reale silver coin that had a distinctive “8″ stamped into it. It was the largest of the silver coins weighing approximately one ounce.
The gold coins were known as escudos and also came in a several denominations with the largest of these coins, the 8 escudo, weighing approximately one ounce.
There is often confusion about what constitutes a doubloon. Doubloon comes from the Spanish Doblón which means to double; thus a doubloon is a coin of double value.
Rich Mutschler is the founder and president of the Interisland Trade Cooperative of Indonesia. He and his extended family manage the Casa Rosa trade & cultural center in Batubulan, Bali. Their company, Voyager International Inc., is an established and well known ethnographic art dealership in the US operating from its base in southern Florida.
For them Indonesia is more than its 235,000,000 people, 365 languages, and 13,000 islands. It is a home centered amidst a turquoise sea and islands like gems strewn throughout a place of mystery, beauty and culture. This ancient land spans two thousand years of commerce and history; a place where the sound of music, and the laughter of children replaces a world in the west of high rises, mass media and the isolation of life in our modern complex society.
Volcanoes dot the length of the archipelago. Sulfuric volcanic caps rise high in watercolor skies dominated by the orange sun. People of Arabic, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch origins engage in business, agriculture, art and the timeless pursuit of happiness with simplicity as the key to all that is considered a fruitful life.
In the summer of l985, Rich, a professional musician and photographer, finished a tour of Germany and France winning the “Blitz Tip” magazine performing arts and song writing competition sponsored by the Frankfurt Rundshau News. Weary, no one from the group objected when Rich suggested a break before their scheduled fall performance program on the French coast.
Soon he visited a local travel agency. The bureau suggested Bali, a place where a 60′s art movement never died and where native people celebrated a vibrant and beautiful culture.
It was the perfect place and little did Rich know that his stay in paradise would change his current life and effect the lives of many in his near future.
Purchasing a ticket he took his first of many visits to the orient. Arriving in Bali airspace the plane circled the island some thirty minutes before landing. From the air Bali looked like a treasure map Rich had seen in the book “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Landing on a balmy day in 85 degree temperatures the fragrance of incense and tropical flowers rode a gentle wind.
Following customs clearance and hotel registration Rich headed for the beach with a guitar and Nikon in hand hoping for an initial cultural encounter. Reclining on the beach he soon drifted off to “neverland” surrounded by the sun which seemed to reach in and warm him to the bone.
Later, he was touched on the shoulder. A young tanned village man inquired if he had interest in antiques. He outstretched his hand to reveal a group of objects that reflected the morning light which also rested on the brim of his large straw hat. Rich recognized the pieces as pieces of 8, Dutch guilders and a rare gold doubloon.
Rich purchased the coins for a fair price, and for the next few days the trader came to deliver other artifacts, after payment always departing on an old but reliable red bicycle.
He inquired from where the coins had came but the young man only said that they had been found in a mountain hillside by an old man who from time to time paid his debts with them.
This opportunity made Rich aware of the possibilities of pursuing historical objects in Indonesia and he soon became a skilled trader returning three months of the year. He won over new friends and business acquaintances, many who later became the core of the organization known as the “Interisland Trade Group”.
He also became aware of numerous historical areas within Indonesia and of the many salvage related items that had come ashore over the years from trade ships that ventured from the Middle East, Europe and Asia. These, were laden with spices, gold, textiles, pearls, cannon, jewelry and much more. Over centuries these items had found their way into the hands of large and wealthy private collectors throughout Bali and Java.
The art and artifacts of indigenous peoples around the globe is termed “ethnographic.” Major areas of focus include African and Oceanic arts and their subsets, with intriguing geographic departures limited only by the number of aboriginal societies still in existence anywhere. Most important ethnographic art dealers are located in New York, Milan, London and Santa Fe and now in Charleston, South Carolina. Visit Galleons Lost for ethnographic art from Southeast Asia.
Assorted 9th Century Ceramic Containers, Shipwreck Salvage
Wood Keriss Holder from Lombok, Indonesia, circa 1890
Balinese Temple Statue, 1920's
Ivory and Gold Keriss Handle, embellished with high quality ruby cabs, Balinese Priest figure, 1910
The Buccaneer Restaurant and Charleston Pirate Tours team up to offer an exceptional value – an exciting, walking tour with Charleston’s most recognizable guide followed by an incredible dining experience amid authentic pirate artifacts. The Tour Lunch Deal begins with a 10:00 am tour and ends with a two course meal including beverage. Priced at only $23, guests save up to $12 each. The Tour Dinner Deal begins at 4:00 pm and ends with a three course meal and beverage. At only $33, the Dinner Tour Deal saves guests up to $14. Children 4 to 12 tour and dine (from the children’s menu) for just $15 for lunch or dinner.
The Tour Meal Deal will be available beginning Monday, May, 24, 2010. Lunch Tours are available daily, Monday through Sunday. Dinner Tours are available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Reservations are required. To book your Tour Meal Deal, call The Buccaneer Restaurant at 843-805-6065 or Charleston Pirate Tours at 843-442-7299. For more information on Charleston Pirate Tours, visit www.CharlestonPirateTour.com. For more information on The Buccaneer Restaurant, visit www.TheBuccaneerRestaurant.com.
In authentic costume and accompanied by “Captain Bob,” the blue and gold macaw, professional storyteller and licensed Charleston tour guide, Eric Lavender, brings Charleston’s Golden Age of Piracy to life with tales of the pirates, who visited our fair shores: Stede Bonnet, Blackbeard, Richard Worley, Charles Vane, and of course the ferocious female pirates, Mary Read and Anne Bonny. Eric and Captain Bob lead you to the hangouts, “haunts,” and final resting places of pirates who made the old walled city of Charles Towne one of their ports-o-call. Hear stories of Blackbeard’s blockade of the harbor and siege of the city, Stede Bonnet’s capture and execution, the romance between Anne Bonny and Calico Jack, the headless pirate ghost, who guards a buried treasure, and more! To learn more about the tours and book online, please visit www.charlestonpiratetour.com.
Clyde Shokes Jr., a native Charlestonian with a lifelong interest in antiques, visited Galleons Lost two weeks ago, curious about this new store/gallery that just opened in the Antique District of King Street in downtown Charleston, SC. Mr. Shokes liked what he saw at the gallery: “Their new shop on King St. is bound to be a great success and a perfect addition to the variety of antique shops already there. They have world class museum quality things from Indonesia, the Dutch East Indies and Bali in particular. No other local shop has the things they have…Some of their best museum quality things are a gold purse that was given to the Queen of Sumatra by the King in 1850 and a large gold headdress type crown that belonged to a King. If you need a canon, they have several, even some miniature ones…”
Galleons Lost, a subsidiary of Voyager International Inc., will hold a grand opening reception on Friday, May 7, 2010 from 5 to 8 p.m. during the French Quarter Art Walk. The store is located at 165 King Street, downtown Charleston, SC.
Buying expeditions to Bali with Voyager International are nothing less than an exhilarating adventure. You will get exposed to the inside working of the treasure industry and given the secrets of success through practical experience. These secrets will give you the skills you need to master one of the most challenging and rewarding career fields available today. At the same time experience primitive and artistic cultures, volcanic landscapes, culinary delights and people that will leave a permanent imprint on your mind and spirit.
Two and four week programs offer business and cultural opportunities to include acquisition and resale options relative to the international Maritime Salvage and Ethnographic arts industry.
Treasure Diver in Bali
Savor culinary delights from numerous cultures and meet the variety of individuals you previously could only experience through National Geographic specials on television.
Observe our ongoing daily acquisition and restoration operation in action. Receive hands on experience with rare objects from land and sea.
To learn more about the expeditions, contact Rich Mutschler at 561-373-0619 or by email at ibalimoss@msn.com.
Southeast Asia has been the hub of a prosperous maritime trade for many centuries. Just about every type of exotic merchandise was traded there – porcelain, gold, silver and the precious spices for which the region was renowned. It attracted ships from as far away as Arabia, India, Europe and the Americas, and though many sailed safely back to home port, others were doomed to sink a watery grave with great loss of life and cargo.
“Shipwrecks and Sunken Treasures in Southeast Asia” by Tony Wells weaves a fascinating story of the rich trading history of the Spice Route and of the thousands of ships that came here in search of riches. It explores some of the reasons why the ships sank and provides an eye-opening account of the fabulous treasures that still lie undisturbed beneath the waters of Southeast Asia.
The book contains an eyewitness account of the search for the most fabulous shipwreck ever to take place in Southeast Asia – the Flor Do Mar which sank almost five centuries ago laden with the riches of the Malacca sultante.
And to bring out treasure-hunter in us all, the author provides a comprehensive listing of over 450 shipwrecks that sank in Asian waters between the early 1500s and the end of the 19th century.
