Admiral Gardner Shipwreck Recovery East India Company 10 Cash NGC Certified

January 24, 1809. Despite bitter cold, gale-force winds, and an ominous black sky, three ships owned by the East India Company - the Brittania, the Carnatic, and the Admiral Gardner - embarked on the long journey from London to the East Indies. The latter, a three-masted brig, was loaded with some 46 tons of copper coins struck at the Soho Mint, for the Company's use in Madras, India.

Rounding Margate, some 80 miles from London, the winds abruptly stopped, and the progress of the ships stopped. The crews dropped anchor, to avoid drifting into the notorious Goodwin Sands. All was calm briefly, until the gale suddenly intensified. The anchors found no purchase in the shifting seabed, and after a valiant effort by the crew, all three ships sunk into the sand, just after midnight on January 25.

Although the wreck of the Admiral Gardiner was part of local lore, no trace of the ship was found until 1984, when a passing fisherman snagged his nets on the wreckage. A year later, a team of divers salvaged some?but not nearly all?of the lost treasure, including a sealed barrel containing some 28,000 pieces. This coin is one of them.

These coins have been certified as Genuine shipwreck recovery coins from the Admiral Gardner by a third party coin grading company. The coins are packaged in a sealed plastic slab to preserve them and to maintain their current condition.