Are Dark Tide Relics shipwreck coins authentic?

Every shipwreck coin and artifact sold by Dark Tide Relics is authenticated and accompanied by provenance documentation from recognized authorities such as the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, NGC, or PCGS, plus a permanent digital provenance record via TreasureCheck.ai.

Which shipwrecks does Dark Tide Relics specialize in?

Dark Tide Relics curates artifacts from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622), Santa Margarita, the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet, El Cazador (1784), SS Central America (1857), Maravillas, Concepción, and other documented Spanish colonial and American Gold Rush wrecks.

How are orders shipped?

All orders ship via FedEx, fully insured and with adult signature required on delivery.

Does Dark Tide Relics buy shipwreck coins from collectors?

Yes. Dark Tide Relics actively acquires authenticated shipwreck coins and collections. Submissions can be made through the Sell Coins program at darktiderelics.com/sell-coins.

Real Casa de la Moneda de Madrid

City: Madrid, Spain
Mint mark: M (crowned)
Years active: 1614–present
Metals: Silver, Gold, Copper
Assayers: A Various (17th-century assayers); JJ José de Jaurigui (and successors); PJ Pedro José de Lizardi (and successors); CF Various Bourbon-era assayer pairs

The royal court mint, established after Madrid became the permanent Spanish capital — and the only Spanish mint to survive into the modern era.

History

Madrid became the permanent seat of the Spanish court in 1561, but it did not gain its own royal mint until 1614, when Philip III authorized the establishment of a Casa de la Moneda in the capital. From that point forward, Madrid struck coinage for the crown alongside the older provincial mints at Seville, Toledo, Segovia, and Valladolid. Madrid's identifying mintmark is the crowned "M" — a stylized capital M topped with a small crown — which became one of the most recognizable marks on later Spanish coinage. Throughout the 17th century the mint produced silver cobs and milled silver and gold under the late Habsburgs, then transitioned to fully milled Bourbon coinage in the early 18th century. Under Charles III in the 18th century, Madrid struck refined milled pillar and bust-type coinage that rivaled the output of any colonial mint. After the closure of the colonial mints with Latin American independence (1810s–1820s) and the eventual consolidation of Seville (1869), Madrid became the sole official Spanish mint — a position it still holds today as the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre. Madrid-struck coinage is uncommon on early colonial shipwrecks (the mint only opened in 1614, after the great fleet losses of 1622), but appears on later wrecks such as the 1715 Plate Fleet and on outbound Bourbon-era vessels carrying Spanish currency west.

Notable features

Established 1614 — relatively late among Spanish royal mints
Distinctive crowned "M" mintmark
Transitioned from hand-struck cobs to fully milled coinage under the Bourbons
Only Spanish mint still operating in the modern era

Coin types

Silver
Gold
Silver
Gold

Monarch periods

Philip III — Authorizes the founding of the Madrid mint in 1614.
Philip IV — Madrid produces cob coinage to fund the Thirty Years' War alongside Seville and the provincial mints.
Charles II — Late Habsburg cobs, often crude in execution as the empire's finances decline.
Philip V — Bourbon reforms introduce machine-struck milled coinage. Madrid becomes a flagship Bourbon mint.
Charles III — Refined bust-type milled coinage rivals the output of Mexico City and Potosí.
Isabella II & successors — After 1869 consolidation Madrid is the sole Spanish royal mint, surviving as the Fábrica Nacional today.