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Treasure coins and the Franklin Mint |
| Name: |
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Jim Sinclair |
| Date Posted: |
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Mar 16, 07 - 5:52 AM |
| Email: |
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jimsinclair@searex-inc.com |
| Message: |
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The Franklin Mint Acquires a Treasure-Trove of Artifacts from ''The Shipwreck That Changed the World''
ASTON, Pa.-(Business Wire)-March 15, 2007 - The Franklin Mint, the world's leading private mint and most trusted name in collectibles, has acquired virtually all recovered contents from "El Cazador" ("the hunter"), an 18th-century Spanish "Brig of War" sunk in 1784 and discovered in 1993. This acquisition is the most prized collection in The Franklin Mint's history, a treasure-trove of artifacts from "the shipwreck that changed the world." The Franklin Mint will for the first time offer actual artifacts of 220+ year old buried treasure including silver coins, ammunition and "dead man's gold" and more.
Lost at sea in 1784, El Cazador remains one of the most significant shipwrecks in history. The Spanish Crown's equivalent of an "armored car," the ship was loaded with 450,000 pesos of silver reales minted to provide financial support to the failing economy of Spanish-held Louisiana. The loss of this ship led Spain to forfeit control of its New World territories to Napoleon, who later sold them to President Thomas Jefferson in the Louisiana Purchase. It was this landmark event that instantly doubled the size of the United States of America and helped define the shape of the nation we know today.
"This is one of the most profound discoveries of our time and the greatest offering in the history of The Franklin Mint," said M. Moshe Malamud, chairman of The Franklin Mint. "Not only is this the largest hoard of 18th-century silver coins ever recovered, the loss had a momentous positive impact on our nation. The Franklin Mint will now make it possible for the public to own a highly coveted and valuable piece of history."
The estimated retail value of the ship's recovered treasures in today's market could exceed $100 million. The shipwreck's contents include a large cache of valuable silver coins (recognized as one of the very first U.S. dollars since it pre-dates the formation of the U.S. mint in 1792), the ship's bell, bronze cannons, 500-lb anchor and other precious artifacts.
Now, to share with the public this amazing story of discovery and historical significance of the El Cazador shipwreck, The Franklin Mint is poised to commence the most far-reaching marketing program since the company was founded in 1964. The rarest of a few select coins will be sold at public auction. Additional rare and lost treasure coins and jewelry in limited-edition offerings are scheduled to be available to order on QVC, one of the world's largest multimedia retailers, April 17, 2007 beginning at midnight (ET). QVC viewers will have the chance to hear one of history's greatest tales during special programming throughout the day.
The ship's treasure coins have been professionally evaluated and graded by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), the leading independent authenticator of shipwreck artifacts, and plans for future preservation of the ship's archives (including those yet to be recovered) are underway.
This offering is the result of a painstaking, decade-long recovery and restoration process - one of the most ambitious recovery efforts ever taken on. The silver coin artifacts have suffered the ravages of the sea after more than 220 years and were originally found with the appearance of pitted rock, with each coin having to go through a special desalination and time-consuming cleaning process in order to preserve the highest quality. Each coin artifact was then meticulously examined by NGC professionals, cataloged and preserved within a sonically sealed, security holder.
"There is no question that the historical significance and value of the coins recovered from El Cazador have earned her a place alongside the most famous shipwrecks of all-time such as the Atocha and S.S. Republic," Mr. Malamud concluded.
About The Franklin Mint
An American institution founded in 1964, The Franklin Mint is known worldwide for its innovative design, meticulous attention to detail, and creating some of the highest-quality collectible products in the world. The Franklin Mint's peerless archives includes over 12,000 product lines, including "limited edition" fine art sculptures, heirloom collectible dolls, commemorative coins, designer jewelry, precision die-cast models and historic reproductions, as well as collections honoring some of the world's most revered individuals and institutions.
As one of the originators of many direct marketing techniques still used today, The Franklin Mint has brought collectibles to tens of millions of people around the world for over four decades. The Franklin Mint's product lines have included some of the all time, best-selling collectible products including Monopoly - The Collector's Edition, the original Civil War Chess Set and numerous successful licensed programs with Chevrolet, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Ford, General Motors, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, The Smithsonian Institute and Paramount Studios, just to name a few. The Franklin Mint is privately held, with ownership whose holdings also include The Morgan Mint. |
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