Ship Wreck Coin Sebenza - El Cazador

2Dead

2Dead

Joined
Jul 30, 2009
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I wanted to share my latest CRK with everyone here. This one is part of the first run of Plaza Cutlery's "Ship Wreck Coin" Sebenzas. This particular one has an inlaid coin from El Cazador which sank in 1784 and a ladder damascus blade (a first for me). I think its really cool when you think about the history of the inlaid coin, the ship, the wreck, what was, and what could have been. This one also came with a certificate of authenticity for the coin. You can see the front side in the first pic.

I was able to pick up this Large Sebenza 21 today with Dino's help. Dino, it was great to meet you today. It's great to know there are others out there that share our addiction for CRKs.

Here's what the back side of the certificate says:

Carlos III, the King of Spain, (1759-1788), had intended the immense cargo of silver coins on board El Cazador to be used to redeem nearly worthless Spanish paper currency then in circulation in Spanish-owned Louisiana. The ill-fated pesos were to have stabilized the Spanish monetary system in colonial North America and, hopefully, to have solidified Spain's North American holdings. At the time of the loss of El Cazador, Spain was facing econimic exhaustion, primarily due to 250 years of overseas conquest and decades of war. After the loss, Spain's North American holdings continued to weaken and the King commenced negotiations to sell or trade Louisiana. In 1800, a reluctant King Carlos IV (1788-1808) conveyed Louisiana to France's Napoleon for some minor European considerations. Three years later, in 1803, Emperor Napoleon of France sold Louisiana, approximately one million square miles of North America, to President Thomas Jefferson's United States. The purchase price was fifteen million dollars, about three cents per acre.

The treasure of El Cazador, had it arrived, was meant to redeem the financial affairs of one country; instead, the destiny of the United States was changed, its size instantly doubled. There is no way to know what the history of Louisiana, the United States and the world would have been had El Cazador completed its voyage.

On August 2, 1993, the wreck site of El Cazador was accidentally discovered by Capt. Jerry Murphy, the captain of a fishing vessel named "Mistake." The Grump Partnership was formed to salvage the wreck site of El Cazador, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Adrian DuPlantier, awarded all of the items salvaged from the wreck site to the Grumpy Partnership. The modern-day discovery of El Cazador's treasure provides this unique opportunity to own a coin from "The wreck that changed the world."
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i like it to, for all the things you can mod on a knife this is really exceptional... :thumbup:
 
2Dead, that is a VERY interesting and VERY nice Sebenza!

A piece of history, incorporated in the handle.

Kind regards,

Jos
 
Great catch!
Thanks for sharing.
If you ever open the knife, I'd be interested of a picture ofe the backside of the coin.
TIA
red mag
 
Thanks for the kind words guys!!

Red mag, your post made me go back and take a look in between the scales. I didn't look before and had assumed that the Ti slab was solid save for the front of the coin but the hole goes all the way through and the back of the coin is visible too. I didn't take the knife apart (not sure I will either) but the back doesn't look as detailed as the front. If I do take it apart, I will definitely post a pic.
 
Very cool Trand. I just saw these in Blade mag over the weekend and was wondering when one would pop up here :D I'm assuming this is going to be a collector piece and not a user?

Nathan
 
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