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.

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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.

Het Huis te Cruyenstein

Lost: 1698
Location: Oudekraal, Cape Peninsula, South Africa
Coordinates: -33.9800, 18.3500
Era: Spanish Colonial – Late 17th Century
Coinage: cob
Discovered by: South African divers
Recovery: 1698
Cargo: Spanish silver reales, VOC ingots, Trade goods

VOC East Indiaman lost to fog and rocks at Oudekraal, on the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula, while trying to reach Table Bay on her maiden voyage.

History

Het Huis te Cruyenstein was on her maiden voyage, outbound from the Dutch Republic to the Indies in 1698, with 275 people and 19 chests of specie aboard. While attempting to round the Cape Peninsula into Table Bay, she was driven off course in thick fog and struck rocks at Oudekraal, several kilometers from Table Bay proper, on 27/28 May 1698. No lives were reported lost.

Recovery

Cape governor Simon van der Stel ordered an immediate salvage that recovered 16 of the 19 specie chests; the missing three were later traced to crew plunder rather than the sea. The site was worked again by a 19th-century diving-bell operation and by modern sport divers, and now lies within a South African Marine Protected Area.

Timeline

1698 — Maiden Voyage Outbound — Sails from the Dutch Republic with 275 people and 19 chests of specie.
1698 — Wrecked at Oudekraal — Driven onto rocks in thick fog while trying to reach Table Bay; no lives reported lost.
1698 — Van der Stel Salvage — 16 of 19 specie chests recovered; the remaining three traced to crew plunder.
1868–Present — Later Salvage Campaigns — A 19th-century diving-bell operation and modern sport divers work the depleted site.

Notes

Lost on her maiden voyage while trying to reach Table Bay, not while anchored there
16 of 19 chests of silver were recovered within months; the missing three were plundered by her own crew
The site now lies within the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area