An incredibly rare silver coin found in a Wreckage of Vasco da Gama's Esmeralda, the coin is so rare that only one coin is known to exist today. The coin was found among the stone shot, ceramics, a bell and other debris.
The 500-year-old wreckage of Portuguese ship piloted by an uncle of explorer Vasco da Gama has been found off the coast of Oman.
British company, Blue Water Recoveries and the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture first explored a site in the Al Hallaniyah Island, off the coast of Oman in 2013. They have now determined the debris found came from a long-missing ship, one of two lost in the storm from da Gama's second voyage to India.
The extremely rare silver coin called an Indio, of which only one other is known to exist today, said David L. Mearns, the director of Blue Water Recoveries. The coins were forged in 1499 after da Gama’s first voyage to India, which helps date the wreckage, he said.
The indio, minted by Dom Manuel I specifically for trade with India. Until the excavation, only one other example of this coin was known, leading scholars to call it the "Ghost Coin of Dom Manuel I."
12 gold Portuguese cruzado coins from the reigns of Joao II (1477-1495) and Dom Manuel I were also recovered from the wreck in mint condition.
Ayoub al-Busaidi, the supervisor of marine archaeology at the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture, said this marked the first underwater excavation carried out by his country. He said it inspired officials to continue to explore the waters around the sultanate for other finds.
“Oman is now looking at outside archives to read about the relationships and trade between Oman and the outside” world, al-Busaidi said.
The archaeologists announced their findings in an article published by The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.
Source: National Geograhic
