The story goes way back for this coin. In the early 1700s, in Columbia, the Spanish minted a pile of gold from the new world to be transported back to Spain. The transport ship was delayed for years, and all the while gold cobs minted under Charles II kept accumulating. In 1715, a group of 11 ships were heavily loaded with gold to be transported back to Spain. The cargo was 1, 2, 4, 8 escudos pieces from Mexico, Peru and Columbia. All by 1 ship was lost to a hurricane off the coast of Florida. This means that critical gold coinage was missed by the Spanish homeland and lost to the sea for centuries. In the 1950s, treasure hunters with modern equipment were able to recover a signficant portion of the gold cobs. Coins with outstanding luster and high quality strikes command premiums!
