The E-Sylum:  Volume 11, Number 18, May 4, 2008, Article 21

DE BEERS DISCOVERS 15TH CENTURY TREASURE SHIP OFF NAMIBIAN COAST

De Beers, the world's biggest undersea diamond miner, said
its geologists in Namibia found the wreckage of an ancient
sailing ship still laden with treasure, including six bronze
cannons, thousands of Spanish and Portuguese gold coins and
more than 50 elephant tusks.

The wreckage was discovered in the area behind a sea wall used
to push back the Atlantic Ocean in order to search for diamonds
in Namibia's Sperrgebiet or "Forbidden Zone."

"If the experts' assessments are correct, the shipwreck could
date back to the late 1400s or early 1500s, making it a
discovery of global significance," Namdeb Diamond Corp., a
joint venture between De Beers and the Namibian government,
said in an e-mailed statement from the capital, Windhoek,
today.

The site yielded a wealth of objects, including several tons
of copper, more than 50 elephant tusks, pewter tableware,
navigational instruments, weapons and the gold coins, which
were minted in the late 1400s and early 1500s, according to
the statement.

Diamonds have been mined along the south-western coast of
Namibia and in its coastal waters for the last 100 years.
De Beers, the world's largest diamond company, is 45% owned
by Anglo American Plc, 40% held by the Oppenheimer family
and 15% owned by the government of Botswana.

To read the complete article, see:
Full Story

[Some of the recovered coins are pictured in this BBC article
forwarded by Dick Hanscomb. -Editor]

To read the complete article, see:
Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum