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.

San Martín

Lost: 1618
Location: Vero Beach, Florida (Green Cabin site)
Coordinates: 27.6500, -80.3500
Era: Spanish Colonial – Early Core Wrecks
Coinage: cob
Cargo: Trujillo silver cobs, Bronze cannon, Navigational astrolabe

The Almiranta de Honduras, attributed to the Green Cabin wreck site off Vero Beach on Florida’s Treasure Coast — not, as sometimes stated, in the Caribbean off Colombia.

History

San Martín, known in period documents as the Almiranta de Honduras, was a Vizcayan-built galleon armed at Seville that carried cargo loaded chiefly at Trujillo, Honduras. She sailed from Havana bound for Cádiz in September 1618 as part of a convoy that also carried the fleet's Capitana. Two days out, a hurricane struck the convoy; only a few ships made it back across the Atlantic, while most were wrecked on the Bahama reefs or along the Florida coast. The wreck's remains were located by the Real Eight Company in the 1960s while searching for 1715-fleet material, and researcher Eugene Lyon tentatively linked coin dates and a cannon dated 1594 from the 'Green Cabin' wreck site off Vero Beach to the San Martín. That identification remains an attribution rather than a certainty.

Recovery

Documented recovery for this specific vessel is limited to material from the tentatively-linked 'Green Cabin' site off Vero Beach, including coins with no dates later than 1618, bronze cannon (one bearing the cast date 1594), and a recovered astrolabe. Collectors should treat the San Martín attribution carefully, as it rests on tentative archaeological correlation rather than a confirmed identification.

Timeline

1618 — Departs Havana — Sails for Cádiz as Almiranta of a homebound convoy.
1618 — Wrecked in a Hurricane — Two days out, a storm drives the convoy onto the Florida coast.
1960s — Site Located — The Real Eight Company finds the Green Cabin wreck site off Vero Beach while searching for 1715-fleet material.
1984 — Site Published — Archaeologist David Moore publishes findings on the tentatively-linked "Green Cabin" wreck.

Notes

Known in period documents as the Almiranta de Honduras
Attributed to the Green Cabin wreck site off Vero Beach, Florida
Tentatively linked to the "Green Cabin" wreck site by researcher Eugene Lyon