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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.

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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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“Mesuno Hoard” (c. 1636)

Lost: 1636
Location: El Mesuno, Magdalena River, near Honda, Colombia
Coordinates: 5.2100, -74.7400
Era: Spanish Colonial – Mid-17th Century
Coinage: cob
Cargo: Bogotá two-escudo gold cobs, Coins dated 1628–1635, Iron container reported at discovery

A cache of Bogotá two-escudo gold cobs found at El Mesuno in Colombia’s Magdalena River; no vessel or shipwreck has been documented.

History

The “Mesuno Hoard” takes its name from El Mesuno in the Magdalena River near Honda, Colombia, where a cache of Bogotá-mint gold two-escudo cobs was found in 1936. The coins are principally issues of Philip IV bearing the NR mintmark for Nuevo Reino and the initials of Bogotá assayers. Although collector labels sometimes call Mesuno a shipwreck, no named vessel, wreck structure, or contemporary loss account has been tied to the find. The river was part of the route by which coin moved from Bogotá toward Cartagena, but whether this cache was lost in a boating accident, concealed, or deposited another way remains unknown.

Recovery

The first reported Mesuno coin appeared in the London market in 1939. Larger offerings followed through Schulman and Stack's Coin Galleries from the late 1950s, while many pieces were mounted in jewelry. The sharp condition of many coins is consistent with a compact hoard rather than a widely scattered marine wreck site. Collectors should treat “Mesuno Hoard” as a numismatic provenance label. A credible example should match the documented Bogotá two-escudo types and carry a traceable auction, collection, or grading history; the label alone does not prove a shipwreck origin.

Timeline

1628–1635 — Coins Struck — Bogotá produces the gold two-escudo types associated with the hoard.
c. 1636 — Hoard Deposited — The cache enters the Magdalena River context by unknown circumstances.
1936 — Found at El Mesuno — The gold coin cache is discovered near Honda, Colombia.
1939 — First Market Record — A Bogotá two escudos described as found on the Magdalena River is offered in London.

Notes

No identified shipwreck is documented for the hoard
The group is associated with Bogotá-mint two-escudo gold cobs
The circumstances of its loss remain unknown