A QUANTITY OF SILVER SPECIE RECOVERED FROM THE ASSOCIATION, WRECKED OFF THE ISLES OF SCILLY, 1707

comprising fourteen examples viz: three Charles II crowns for 1671; 1673 (x2); 1676; 1682; three Charles II half crowns for 1663; 1673; three William III half crowns for 1696; three Charles II shillings for 1663 and two James II shillings for 1685, all contained in wallets with coin and label recesses; together with facsimile receipts for same from 24.9.74 W.H.Lane Sale, Penzance; a certificate of provenance, and other ephemera.

(A lot)

W.H. Lane Auctioneers, Penzance: 'Association Treasure Sale', 24th September, 1974, where bought by vendor's late father.

The infamous wrecking of Sir Cloudesley Shovell's 96-gun flagship Association through a navigational error (killing over 2,000 men) provided the impetus to solve the age-old problem of longitude that was only solved with John Harrison's invention of the marine chronometer some fifty or so years later. The wreck itself was discovered by the Navy Sub-aqua Club in 1967 and contracts for the salvage were issued to the Club, Blue Sea Divers and Roland Morris who worked until 1970 and established a museum in Penzance (now closed), and again from 1973 with alumni divers from the Blue Sea team, mainly to catalogue the cannon. On removing one of these a layer of English shillings appeared and, when these were lifted they in turn had plugged a four foot 'hole' containing some 8,000 coins and artefacts which were surrendered to the Receiver of Wreck who then disposed of some of the best examples via W.H.Lane in 1974.