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.

HMS Seahorse

Lost: 1728
Location: Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, Canada (unverified)
Coordinates: 43.4200, -65.6000
Era: British Royal Navy Losses
Coinage: milled
Cargo: Reported: silver pay coin, Reported: ship's ordnance, Reported: personal effects (unverified)

A reported Royal Navy sixth-rate loss off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, in 1728 — a claim independent institutional or archaeological documentation could not verify.

History

HMS Seahorse is a real, recurring Royal Navy ship name across the 18th century, and small British warships were indeed lost patrolling Nova Scotia waters in this period. However, a search of Royal Navy loss records, Nova Scotia shipwreck compilations, and the Parks Canada and Nova Scotia heritage literature did not turn up an independently sourced HMS Seahorse wrecked at Cape Sable in 1728, nor any record of a rediscovery or coin recovery from such a site. This entry is presented with that gap disclosed rather than papered over.

Recovery

No excavation report, museum accession record, or Nova Scotia treasure-trove filing for a 1728 HMS Seahorse loss at Cape Sable has been located. Until a primary source can be identified, any coin or artifact offered as recovered from this wreck should be treated as an undocumented claim rather than established history.

Timeline

1728 — Reported Loss — Widely repeated but not independently verified loss off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia.
1990 — Reported Rediscovery — Sport divers said to have located the site; no corroborating record found.
Unverified — Reported Coin Recovery — A small mixed-currency coin group is claimed, without a documented recovery report.

Notes

HMS Seahorse is a real, recurring Royal Navy ship name used across the 18th century
No primary source for a 1728 Seahorse loss at Cape Sable, nor its claimed rediscovery, has been located
Cape Sable, Nova Scotia is an independently documented hazard to shipping, but that alone is not evidence for this specific claimed wreck