COINS FROM THE WRECK OF LE CHAMEAU

One of the most important shipwrecks ever found in Canadian waters was the wreck of Le Chameau. On the night of August 27, 1725, the future of Colonial French Canada was dashed to pieces on the rocks off Cape Lorembec, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The 600-ton, 48-gun pride of the French fleet, Le Chameau, was lost with all of her 316 passengers and what amounted to several years’ worth of funds for the French colonies in North America in newly struck silver Ecu and half Ecu coins.

After resting on the ocean floor for close to 250 years, Le Chameau was rediscovered by a local diver and entrepreneur named Alex Storm and his associates, who began recovering contents of the ship that had eluded the French salvors of 1726. They discovered mounds of cannonballs, iron-encrusted artifacts and a group of silver and gold coins. After more than a month of intensive work on the wreck site, Storm and his associates were able to bring to the surface many historically significant artifacts, along with approximately 30,000 livres in coins. These were mostly French Ecu and half Ecu coins featuring the Royal Arms of France on one side, and King Louis XV on the other. Most of the silver coins were corroded after their long exposure to the turbulent salt water and sand, but all are still highly collectible today as relics of this important piece of Canadian history. The largest part of the coins that were originally aboard Le Chameau have never been recovered.

To read the complete article, see:
The Wreck of Le Chameau (https://canadiancoinblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/
the-wreck-of-le-chameau/comment-page-1/)

See also:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Chameau
Alex Storm, Cape Breton’s treasure hunter and historian, dies at age 80 (https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2018/08/15/alex-storm-
cape-bretons-treasure-hunter-and-historian-dies-at-age-80.html)

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