Rill Cove Wreck

The final voyage

The Rill Cove wreck lies off Rill Cove, west of Kynance Cove on Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula, and was first discovered by divers investigating a nearby modern wreck in 1969. [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rill_Cove_Wreck) Historic England's own assessment describes it plainly as the remains of 'an unknown (possibly Spanish) vessel that sank in the early 17th century,' with a substantial number of finds — mostly silver coins — recovered during excavations in the 1970s and 1980s. [1](https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/wrecks/rillcovefullreportfinalversion-pdf)

The recovered coins include Spanish issues of Philip II and Philip III, dating from roughly 1555–98 and 1598–1605 respectively. [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rill_Cove_Wreck) The site has sometimes been conflated with the separately documented 'Lizard Silver Wreck' of 1619 near Lizard Point, but Historic England's own desk-based assessment states plainly that this identification is disputed and that the two may not be the same vessel. [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rill_Cove_Wreck)

What was aboard

No ship's manifest survives because the vessel itself has never been identified. This reflects material recorded during 1970s–1980s excavation and subsequent Historic England assessment, not a documented cargo list.

Silver coinage: Over 300 sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century coins recovered, a number of Spanish origin bearing Philip II or Philip III.

Ordnance: Iron cannon, a wrought-iron swivel gun, and a banded breech-loading gun recorded on site.

Ship structure: Very limited surviving hull material; the wreck is known chiefly from its scattered artifact assemblage rather than intact structure.

How to collect

Do not accept a firm ship identity: The vessel has never been named in the historical record. Any listing asserting a specific ship's name for Rill Cove material overstates the evidence.

Separate Rill Cove from the 'Lizard Silver Wreck': Historic England's own assessment treats the 1619 Lizard Silver Wreck as a distinct, disputed identification — do not treat the two site names as interchangeable.

Confirm a pre-1976 or licensed recovery date: The site has been under legal protection since 1976; material must trace to the licensed 1970s–1980s excavations, not an unauthorized recent recovery.

Check coin type against the Philip II/III range: Genuine site material should fall within the 1555–1605 date range documented from the excavation; later coins are inconsistent with the known assemblage.