Large silver ingot #699 made in Potosi, Bolivia, 78 lb 9.28 oz troy, Class Factor 1.0, marked with fineness IIUCCCLXXX (2380/2400, 99.16% fine), date 1622, manifest number IUCLXIII (1163), assayer MEXIA, tax stamps and owner/shipper marks, ex-Atocha (1622). 13-1/2" x 5" x 3". This is a choice Atocha ingot, with all the markings full and clear on top, including the rarely-seen cartouches for mine-date Po1622 and assayer Iov.ssE. / MEXIA (Juan Sanchez Mexia), the latter placed to right of the fineness in eight bold boxes, also with four partial coin-like tax seals (one with clear S to right, just inside the full kings name and ordinal PHYLYPVS IIII, as it was being spelled at Potosi then), bold manifest number IUCLXIII and owner/shippers marks (siglas) A and diamond-topped T (which somehow corresponds to "Ucarraga by Munibe to Rodriguez" on the manifest), plus a V in one corner for silvermaster de Vreder. Also on top is the typical peanut-shaped double-scoop "assayers bite" (bocado), characteristic of Potosi-mine ingots. With minimal surface corrosion and nice toning in the markings, this is a very attractive bar, one of the best we have had in a while. From the Atocha (1622), with original Fisher certificate 85A-S699.
