The Treasure of the Nuestra Senőra de la Luz
by Ray Hanisco

The treasure of the Portuguese frigate the Nuestra Senőra de le Luz was brought to light in 1993 with the Sotheby’s auction of a portion of its gold. Up until this time, the ship was nothing more then one of approximately 1500 shipwrecks that occurred in the Rio de la Plata (Plate River), prior to the early 1800s, which had earned it the reputation as the seafarer’s hell. An examination of the geographical, environmental and historical interplay of this region tells a story which fascinates the numismatic mind and has made the treasure from this ship highly cherished.

The Rio de la Plata (from Spanish meaning “River of Silver”) is the estuary of muddy silt formed by the Uruguay River and the Paraná River (South America’s second longest river which drains much of the southeastern part of the continent). This river forms the funnel-shaped indentation on the southeastern coastline of South America which creates about 180 miles of border between Argentina and Uruguay from the rivers’ confluences to the Atlantic Ocean. It is considered the widest river in the world extending from 30 miles wide, were it is formed by the two rivers, to approximately 136 miles wide at the Atlantic Ocean. The nutrients released into the water from the silt plume feed large plankton blooms offshore making fishing as successful as the rivers’ fertile soil does for agriculture and cattle ranching, and so it was throughout the region since the establishment of Spanish colonies back in the early to mid 1500s.

The first recorded sighting of the river occurred in 1516. A Spanish explorer by the name of Juan Díaz de Solís happened upon the Rio de la Plata while searching for a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. While investigating the river banks de Solís and his men were ambushed and killed by the Guaraní natives. Only the 14-year old Cabin Boy, Francisco del Puerto, was spared, captured and raised by the Guaraní as one of their own because their cultural morés banned the killing of elderly, women and children. Years later, the boy, now a man, was recovered and returned to Spain on a ship commanded by Sebastián Gaboto, only to return, to what is currently Uruguay, some time later.

The first European colony on the Rio de la Plata was the city of Buenos Aires. It was first established by Pedro de Mendoza in 1536, and after being abandoned, was again founded by Juan de Garay in June of 1580. The area was also visited by Sir Francis Drake’s fleet in early 1588. It wasn’t long before Buenos Aires was placed under the administration of the viceroyality of Peru. Being so far from the watchful eye of the King of Spain and his administration, it soon became a Mecca in contraband trade, and the Portuguese saw this territory as an area into which they could encroach with only minor resistance. By 1680, the Portuguese established a settlement founded by Manuel de Lobo, called Nova Colonia do Sacramento almost directly across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires. This so infuriated the Spanish that they responded by establishing the seaport of Montevideo, in 1729, on the northeast bank of the river, which was clearly in Portuguese territory, but now put them in complete control of the river’s commerce, and brought Nova Colonia do Sacramento (now called Colonia del Sacramento) under Spanish rule. Spain’s war with England (1739 – 1748) demanded a new route be established between Peru and Spain around Cape Horn, and this made the Rio de la Plata become even more important. All these events were taking a toll on Spain, and negotiations were in order.

In the Treaty of 1750, a new alliance was struck between the Spanish and the Portuguese. Under this treaty, Colonia del Sacramento was returned to Portuguese rule, and Portuguese war ships could operate under license of Spain. One such ship was the Nuestra Senőra de la Luz. She was a 217 ton frigate, and she was contracted to transport a registered cargo of newly struck coins from both the Lima Mint in Peru and the Santiago Mint in Chile. The value of the cargo, at that time, was valued at 1,071,000 pesos, and about 1/6 of the cargo was designated as gold; listed in the manifest as “del cuno perulero” or “doblones de cordoncillo del Nuevo cuno de Chile.” The Luz was sailing from Buenos Aires to Cadiz, Spain via Montevideo (for provisions) in 1752. In addition to her registered cargo, the Luz was reported to be carrying an undeclared hidden cargo of 200,000 pesos concealed in her powder magazine. It is believed this unregistered specie of gold was planned to be off-loaded at an unscheduled stop in Lisbon prior to the ship’s arrival at Cadiz.

On July 2, 1752, the Nuestra Senőra de la Luz was anchored off Montevideo waiting only for livestock provisions, a few passengers, a few crew members and her Captain. What was described as an extremely sudden and violent storm, which fits the description of what is known as a “Pampero,” smashed the Luz against the northern coast with her wreckage strewn over a wide area. All hands on board were lost. Historical records tell us that the salvage operations began immediately, and within 12 months, over 90% of the registered cargo and a large amount of the privately owned goods were recovered; however, the ammunition and powder magazine was never officially located.

In 1992, a recovery team worked in conjunction with the Uruguayan Navy. Utilizing the latest technology along with modern day underwater archeological techniques, a large group of coins and artifacts were recovered and cataloged. It was the discovery of gunpowder among the coins that led to the conclusion that these were indeed a part of the smuggled specie from the powder magazine of the Nuestra Senőra de la Luz.

Two major auctions resulted from the recovery of the Luz. The first was held by Sotheby’s, in New York, in March 1993, called “The Uruguayan Treasure of the River Plate.” Their auction catalog featured 725 gold cob and portrait coins of various denominations, 37 ingots, 10 lots of silver cobs, 3 lots of artifacts, and a gold jewelry box. The second major auction was held by Castells & Castells, in Montevideo, in November of 1997, called “Nuestra Senőra de la Luz.” Their auction catalog contained 54 lots of gold cob and portrait coins, 24 lots of silver cobs, 4 lots of Pillar Dollars, 92 lots of artifacts, and one cannon.

One just might ask, “What makes the treasure of the Luz so special?” It is the preservation of the coins. Most shipwreck coins are salt water discoveries on a bed of sand which has an abrasive effect as the currents wash the sand over the surface of the coins, and the saltwater is very corrosive to silver. The Luz wrecked in brackish waters (where fresh water meets salt water) landing on a silt river bed. The concentrations of salt in the water were greatly reduced, and the effects of silt on the coins’ surfaces were almost negligible. That is why this treasure was so exciting to the numismatic world. The geographical location along with the environment when combined with the historical aspects created the perfect shipwreck coin for the collector.


Written and published with permission of Mr. Ray Hanisco, President and Editor-in-chief of  CoinTrades.com  and the Coin Collecting Editor of  BellaOnLine.com