Mexico City Four Reale Cob Bought from Mel Fisher By My Captain

[Wally Taylor]

I was a craps dealer on a gaming ship out of Key West in the 80's. The ship was a converted Norwegian Hydrofoil. She was named "The Princess of the Waves". They pulled the skis and added a keel. It was all aluminum, so it floated like a duck, but every day I'd go down to Mallory Dock and do some painting or wipe her down. They needed a guy to cast and tie off the bow lines, because they were just short handed. The first day we went out, there was no one one the dock. So, in my tux, I was on the dock, and threw the lines back to the ship. Then, they sailed away, and I jumped on the Pilot Ship, and on the way out of the channel, we pulled along the Princess as we were doing nine knots, and I had to jump five feet out and six feet down to get onto the gangway to the ship. All of the crew and guests were watching from the top deck. They all called me James Bond that day.
The crew was Captain Daniel Lee, The First and Second Mates, Justin and TJ from Norway, and two Engineers from the Phillipines, so we were about three guys short. I was Third Mate and second Craps Dealer!
Captain Dan bacame fast friends with Mel Fisher, and Mel sold him three Four Reale Cobs for Justin, TJ, and me. I had been talking to Dan about my interest in buying some Atocha coins as an,investment vehicle. Dan must havenremembered my interest. As This was a "no-paperwork" deal, I don't know if they are just some that Mel found on the beach over the years, if they were in a cluster from the Atocha, 1715 Fleet, or what. Dan was very wealthy, so I suspect that they are from the Atocha hoard.
I didn't get any extra money for working the bow lines, but it was so cool, riding back in to Mallory Dock after we closed the gaming rooms and headed in. I'd take off my Tux, put on my Shorts and T Shirt, grab a few beers, and ride out on the bow, watching the Porpoises escorting us in every night. I was in heaven.
The fact that Captain Dan bought them for us as a thank you make it priceless to me, paperwork or not. I'll choose carefully who I leave it to when I'm checking out.

 

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[Blak bart]

Awsome story man !!! I remember that boat !!!

 

[Wally Taylor]

Here's a picture of her while she was still a Hydrofoil in Sweden. She was the second hydrofoil ever converted to a yacht. The first was Prince of the Waves.

 

[Blak bart]

Yup I remember her....you'll have to get back and enjoy key west. The sunset festival is still an awesome daily event and those sunsets are still fantastic. Im sure in the hustle and bustle of modern key west that you'll be able to find that old vibe your looking for. Everything has changed since those days but its still the same......if you know what I mean !!! Capt dan sounds like an awsome guy to have worked for, who knows maybe we all bumped shoulders at some time or another !!!

 

[Wally Taylor]

You probably did! He was great. One night, I cast a coil of rope when we were docking. The rope hooked onto a 720 channel marine radio, and plunk, 40 feet down. I felt horrible. I went to the bridge, and told him what I'd done.
He said, "No big deal." He went back to his cabin, and handed me a new radio. Nothing bothered that guy. When I left, I spent a week at his place in Lighthouse Point. He was just as cool ramming around town as he was on the ship. He had an International Unlimited License, so he could Command an aircraft carrier. Really a great man. I miss him.
I miss those sunsets too. I can't believe how HUGE the Sun is as it sets down there. I love Key West. I rented a place on Summerland Key to have some quiet time, but Key West is awesome. Here's a better picture of her as a hydrofoil. She is still sailing, owned by an unknown entity in Gabon.

 

[Wally Taylor]

Hi Frank! I know that th bezel is gold, because I personally had the bezel made of 14K gold at a jewelry store on Zduval Street in Key West. I could care less from where th coin originated, because it was a gift from Daniel Lee, Captain of the Princess of the Waves. He could have given me a Lincoln Cent and I still would have made it into a Dogtag
I don't know if he bought it from Mel or his son Terry. Dan was good friends with both of them. Cheers mate!

 

[Wally Taylor]

Also, here is a Mexico City Cob from The Atocha Research Collection. Close enough for the girls that I ran with back then.

 

[Wally Taylor]

Part Deux.

 

[Wally Taylor]

Frank. I see all of the Atocha copies that are sold these days. I was given this coin in 1987. As far as I know, the Museum wasn't selling all of the copies that they do now. Plus, there is absolutely no seam along the edge of this coin that are apparent on all of the copies. I know that it came from the Fishers in 1987.
As I said, the provenence of this coin is unquestionable to me. As long as it came from the Fishers, and was a gift from Dan, it is still priceless to me. As long as You have fun picking things apart, bully for You. I for one believe that dreams CAN be real. Have a great time, and I wish You all of the best.
Plus, Dan was a multi-millionaire, and cost would have been no object to him in buying gifts for the people who would give their lives to protect the passengers, and follow any orders given. He thought of the three of us as his Sons. If the finish doesn' look original, fresh from restoration, it's because I put the chain, bezel, and coin in Tarn-X three times per year. I could care less about the finish being original, because it will never be sold. If the person that I leave it to sells it, it will bring them some very bad juju! Whatever they are, they sre irreplaceable.
I find it funny that they would have never found the Atocha's Mother Load without Your expertise. They lived among people who have lived through piles of hurricanes, Yet You held the secret to the Atocha's underwater movement. Mel was out there for 16 years. I think he had plenty of time to study the hurricane history of the area. The Atocha was exposed to every hurricane that struck the area for 365 years, yet You pinpointed which second hurricane out of all of them would have shoved her to the current resting place.
I have friends in Key West that still dive on the Fisher's wrecks and discoveries. Please PM me Your information and I'll ask Skip if Your information was earthshaking. If Mel thought You were goofy and left You to talk with his wife, I'm quite certain that he took Your recommendations with a grain of salt. If You had information that he felt was pertinent to the recovery of treasure, I would think that he would lean forward in his chair, absorbing every morsel of professional knowledge that You offered. I guess he didn't need R Duncan Mathewson and Dr Eugene Lyons and the rest of his crew.

 

[huntsman53]

Wally, I wasn't trying to belittle your' coin and gift! I was just being factual about the coin and giving some facts that I know. Sorry I struck such a cord in you, so I deleted my post but I stand behind what I wrote! I could go into depth on Hurricanes as I have tracked them and their' winds, wrote statements on them as well as phenomena they create and broadcast many warnings and statements on them and much more but I won't. It is funny that Deo and one of Mel's Underwater Photographers (don't remember his name) who purchased my' Maroon 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix before I left Key West, sure found what I had to say very interesting and enlightening.


Frank

 

[Wally Taylor]

Daniel Sedwick said that he sees no indication that it's fake. I will forward his email if You would like. I would have gotten back sooner, but I recently met Daniel, and he told me to send him some photos.
He did say there's no way to know if it's from the Atocha or any other wreck. I knew that, without paperwork. But I do know that Dan bought them from Mel. It was common knowledge that on Key West in 1987, You could buy Atocha coins without paperwork from certain sources.

 

[Diver_Down]

I don't know how I missed this post, but thanks for posting Wally. Your first piece there is no doubt that it is legitimate. With your story, it is indeed priceless to you. Now that second piece - She is sexy. If that is yours, put it under lock and key. Not many full 4 digit dated pieces in existence. Collectors will pay Moon Money for a specimen like that.

 

[Wally Taylor]

Thanks Diver! Great mettin' Ya' Mate. And Thank You.

 

[Blak bart]

Hey wally how ya doin ?? Weren't you digging on an old farm site awhile ago ?? Good to see ya back posting !!

 

[Wally Taylor]

Hey Bart! Great hearing from You. I've been digging on my farm when I have time. So far I have a great selection of old pop top beer can pieces. I haven't found a coin yet, but I keep trying. It will only make it feel sweeter when I do find something. My farm is 3 acres, and built in the 1860's and 70's. There has to be something out there! I have a barn older than the house with old growth wood plank floors in part of it. There may be a stash in the barn too. Time will tell! Good on Ya' my friend!

 

[Blak bart]

Ill be up in Gilbertsville at the end of the month searching for bottles and metal detecting. Are you close by there ?

 

[Wally Taylor]

I'm probably 4 hours from Gilbertsville. I'm all the way West in New York, about 12 miles from the Western Border of the state. Gilbertsville should be a cool area. Are You walking a creek looking for bottles?

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Awesome story, thank you for sharing!

 

[Wally Taylor]

They hired us out in Las Vegas to be the dealers on their newly renovated ship. They turned a Swedish Hydrofoil into a so-called "luxury Yacht". They did the work in Port Everglades. We were all on the same flight from Vegas, and they drove us from Miami to Port Everglades to see the ship. It was 3 weeks behind schedule.
Most of the ship builders were from all over the world. All of the dealers spent three weeks lounging at our hotel in North Miami. It was The Carillon Beach hotel, and it was owned by, I guess You would call it "The Syndicate". The investors were really cool, and all wealthy. Anyway, I made friends with Danny, a very tough guy, and Danny was the driver for "Vinnie".
The investors were losing money by the hour, so Danny was working on the ship, and I asked him if I could help. Danny was thrilled to have me offer, so while the other dealers were back at the hotel in the hot tub, Danny and I were down inside the ship bondoing bulkheads, and doing anything to speed up the process. I was having a blast, just working on real ship.
The investors cam by every few days, and they noticed that I was the only dealer working on the ship. I would find out later that my efforts would pay off. It turn out that Danny was a very powerful person, and he was in charge of controlling the dealers. So three weeks later, we were finished enough to take th ship on its shakedown cruise from Port Everglades to Key West, and I was invited.
We set sail for Key West one night, an there was a 30 knot wind ourt of the East. The whole way down the coast, the ship was rocking and rolling. There were 13 people on board, and 7 of them discovered that they were prone to sea-sickness.
It was bad, nd I felt really sorry for them. The ship was rolling so much that the Craps table roled across the floor, and craps tables are very heavy with low center of gravity.
Finally, we made th curve along the Keys, and we were headed downwind. About that time, we lost an engine. n hour later, we lost the other engine. We were dead in the water, with no A/C. About that time we discovered that Mikey The Cook, recently completing a ten year stint in a Federal Prison, had loaded the refrigerator with five 2 litres of soda, nd we had no potable water. The temperature was in the 90's, we had nothing to drink, and we were a long way from Key West. Grundstead Marine, the owner of he ship, droppe off two engineers, but still nothing to drink. We were REALLY thirsty, an floating dead in the ocean. About five hours later, we had one engine rolling, so we finally limped into Ket West, and we made a great entrance. The highly publicized gaming ship came rolling up to Mallory Dock with black diesel smoke belching from one smokestack. Vinnie, the enforcer, jmped onto the dock, and was greeted by some Key West authority, I saw Vinnie reached into his pocket and peeled off a nice pile of hundreds to pay for our smoky ship to remain at Mallory Dock through the evening's Sunset Celebration.
We tied off, and Danny, Captain Dan, Gary Mills, the Chief Operation's Officer, and I headed for the first bar that we could find. I think it was my soon-to-be friend Alan's Casa Marina, a Mexican Retaurant, and outside bar in the shade. When we were dead in the water, all 13 of us on the shakedown cruise were standing around talking, and I said that I had an image of a Bottle of Coron with a chunk of Lime Frozen in the neck of the bottle. Captain Dan and I had become friends as I was working with them finishing the ship for those weeks, and he said that the Coronas were on him for as long as I cared to pound thenm down. That first beer was, and remains to be the best tasting beer that I ever had.
As far as my work on the ship, the benefits to me began rolling in. I was paid double th going dealer rate. The other dealers got to choose two room mates to live with in the house that they rented for us. While they were choosing up room mates, I had my choice of bedrooms, and the single bed remained, as they took out the stack of bunk beds. I had a room to myself. The other dealers piled in a cramped station wagon to get down to the ship every night. Danny and I took th limo down, and went out on the ship every night as it left the dock for Sunset at Mallory Dock. While the other dealers stood around waiting for th ship to dock, Danny and I dined on the buffet in the dining room, and watched every sunset from he comfort of the air conditioned dining room, or went up on the top deck for the view. I miss those Key West sunsets a lot.
So that was the beginning of The Princess of the Waves in Key West. That was the craziest time in my life. I became great friends with not only Captain Dan, but also Captain Tony, a legendary figure in Key West. That guy had a LOT of cool stories bout the Hemingway days. It was said that Hemingway spent a lot of time at Sloppy Joe's, but in reality he enjoyed his passion for drinking in Captain Tony' bar. When Hurricane Floyd hit Key West in the Summer of '87, I was at the awesome candle-lit hurricane party at Captain Tony's. That's it for now, but Key West will always be my favorite place in Florida, and I was a fool to ever leave. Temporary insanity I guess. I have a lot of cool "syndicate" stories, but none for now.
But, Vinnie made it clear that if we ever stole from them, we would be Ballyhoo. For those who don't know, Ballyhoo is a name for sharkbait. And just to make sure that we didn't steal, or take illegal drugs onto the ship, every Saturday morning we stood in line for our weekly lie-detector test. No lie. Zit was a great job, but if You screwed up, it could be a serious mistake. That's it for now. OUT.

 

[Blak bart]

Right on wally !!! I was a young high school punk in those days, but I remeber how keywest was in those days too. I was fishing the summers down at ft jefferson on a commercial yellow tail boat. It was a pretty carefree life in keywest back then. Nice story wally.