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.

SS John Barry

Lost: 1944
Location: Arabian Sea, off Oman
Coordinates: 15.1000, 55.2000
Era: World War II Silver Cargo
Coinage: milled
Discovered by: IFREMER, sponsored by Oman's Ocean Group
Recovery: 1994
Cargo: Saudi silver riyals (1935 / AH 1354), Wartime supplies

An American Liberty ship torpedoed in the Arabian Sea in 1944 while carrying three million Saudi silver riyals — one of the largest silver cargoes ever recovered from the deep sea.

History

The SS John Barry was an American Liberty ship — one of the mass-produced cargo vessels built to keep Allied supply lines running during the Second World War. In August 1944, she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, and by way of the Suez Canal reached the Arabian Sea, bound for Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia and then Karachi. Her cargo manifest included three million newly struck Saudi silver riyals dated 1935 (AH 1354), minted in the United States for the Saudi government as part of oil-concession payments. Persistent postwar rumors held that she also carried additional silver bullion worth some $26 million, though this was never substantiated, and the 1994 recovery explicitly found no such bullion. On the night of 28 August 1944, some 130 miles southeast of Oman, the John Barry was torpedoed by the German U-boat U-859. She broke in two and sank in more than 8,500 feet of water — deeper than almost any wreck ever worked commercially. Most of her crew survived and were rescued by escort vessels; the silver went to the bottom with her.

Recovery

The French oceanographic institute IFREMER located the wreck in 1992 and, sponsored by Oman's Ocean Group, mounted one of the deepest commercial salvage operations ever attempted in 1994, recovering roughly half of the three-million-coin shipment — an estimated 1.5 million Saudi silver riyals — from the shattered holds more than a mile and a half below the surface. No silver bullion was found, despite long-standing rumors of an additional cargo. The recovered riyals — heavy .917 fine silver coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint for Ibn Saud — were sold to collectors worldwide, many encapsulated with certificates tying them to the wreck. The John Barry remains one of the few WWII-era shipwrecks that produced a marketable, well-documented cargo of struck silver coin, and stands as a modern bookend to the centuries-long story of silver moving under sail and steam.

Timeline

1941 — Liberty Ship Built — Constructed as a mass-produced EC2 Liberty ship to sustain Allied wartime shipping.
1944 — Silver Voyage — Loads three million Saudi silver riyals (and reported US bullion) and sails via Suez toward Arabia.
1944 — Torpedoed by U-859 — Sunk 28 August 1944 in the Arabian Sea; goes down in over 8,500 feet of water.
1992 — Wreck Located — IFREMER locates the wreck, sponsored by Oman's Ocean Group.
1994 — Silver Recovered — ~1.5 million Saudi silver riyals (roughly half the shipment) recovered by IFREMER — one of the deepest commercial salvages on record; no bullion was found.

Notes

Torpedoed by U-859 in August 1944 in the Arabian Sea
Sank in more than 8,500 feet of water — a mile and a half deep
Cargo included three million Saudi silver riyals struck at the Philadelphia Mint
The 1994 recovery is one of the deepest commercial salvages ever completed