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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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.

Rill Cove Wreck

Lost: 1618
Location: Rill Cove, Cornwall, England
Coordinates: 49.9600, -5.2400
Era: Spanish Colonial – Early Core Wrecks
Coinage: cob
Discovered by: Local divers
Recovery: 1969
Cargo: Spanish silver reales, Mexico City cobs, Potosí cobs

Unidentified, probably Spanish, vessel wrecked c.1616–1619 near Kynance Cove on Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula — its identity remains unsettled and it is a distinct site from the separately documented "Lizard Silver Wreck" of 1619.

History

The Rill Cove wreck is the remains of an unidentified, probably Spanish, vessel that grounded off Rill Cove, west of Kynance Cove on Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula, in the early 17th century. The exact year of loss is not established, with estimates ranging from around 1616 to 1619, and the ship's identity has never been positively established from documents — it is known only by its find-spot. What is documented is a substantial coin assemblage: over 300 sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century coins, a number of them Spanish issues of Philip II and Philip III. The site is sometimes conflated with the separately documented "Lizard Silver Wreck" of 1619 near Lizard Point, but assessments treat that identification as disputed, and the two are considered distinct wrecks.

Recovery

Divers discovered the site in 1969, and excavations through the 1970s and 1980s recovered the bulk of the coin and ordnance assemblage. The wreck was designated a Protected Wreck under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 on 13 February 1976. A 2004 survey could not relocate surviving material, likely due to mobile sand cover, and the site's identity remains unresolved.

Timeline

c.1616–1619 — Wrecked at Rill Cove — Unidentified, probably Spanish vessel grounds on the Lizard Peninsula and breaks up.
1969 — Divers Locate Site — Local divers investigating a nearby modern wreck find the site.
1976 — Protection Granted — Site designated under the UK Protection of Wrecks Act on 13 February 1976.
1970s–1980s — Coinage Documented — Over 300 coins, including Philip II and III issues, recovered and catalogued.

Notes

Protected under the UK Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 since 1976
Identity of the ship was never established from documents
A distinct, unsettled identity from the separately documented 1619 "Lizard Silver Wreck"