large group of 1715 Fleet pcs... anyone know who this is?

[realeswatcher]

Has anyone ever heard of John Bamberg, from whom a large number of 1715 Fleet silver pieces in the upcoming Sedwick auction originated? From some of the auction's promo info, it seems he received some kind of division from the State of Florida's accumulation (were these from his own finds or...?). The only salvage-related note I find online is some mention of him as an officer of "Undersea Mining Corporation", run by a Tom Gurr. Just curious where such a large grouping would be coming from...

 

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[dagfoto]

possibly .. as the economy gets worse , You might be seeing more such "Loads" being put on the market.. as the wealthy start to feel the pinch and let loose of some minor pieces

 

[Diver_Down]

Unrelated to Realeswatcher's comment (sorry to hijack), but dagfoto has a good point. For awhile, Consolation cobs were getting tough to find in higher grades. This upcoming auction has a bunch. Looks like someone needs some money (both the consignor and myself)...

 

[realeswatcher]

Looked at the intro to the Sedwick auction catalog:

"Most of the following (as noted) were de-accessed from the State of Florida collection in 1980 under the “John Bamberg division,” named for the appointed court receiver representing an investment group tied to Tom Gurr and his successful salvage of the San José of the 1733 Fleet (Florida Keys). The State of Florida laid claim to Gurr's finds, and in the end these coins from the 1715 Fleet in the State's collection were traded out in settlement."

So basically, generic 1715 Fleet material that the state traded for this guy's 1733 finds... Sounds like an interesting backstory. I would assume the "investment group tied to Tom Gurr" is the Undersea Mining Corporation that Google shows a reference to. There's also this on eBay which seems to be from this whole trade-off:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1733-FLEET-SAN-JOSE-SHIPWRECK-SILVER-8-EIGHT-REALES-COA-/400203036557

Advertised as 1733 Fleet from the San Jose wreck site, and "Undersea Mining Corporation" is noted on the accompanying documents. Note that the coin itself is a 1715 Fleet era coin (earlier style lion on cross side, only used up until exactly 1715). The auction description mentions the following:

"IT WASN'T UNTIL 1968 THAT SHE (the San Jose) WAS DISCOVERED BY MARINE TECH SALVAGE COMPANY. TWO YEAR LATER AND AFTER A LONG LEGAL DISPUTE WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA CLAIMED THAT THE SITE LAID WITHIN A FEW YARDS FROM THE STATE'S THREE-MILE BOUNDARY, AND ENDED THE SALVAGING PROCESS UNTIL 1972 WHEN UNDERSEA MINING TOOK OVER THE CONTRACT AND STARTING MAKING SOME SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES. ..... OUR CLIENT WAS PART OF THE SALVAGE DIVE TEAM AND ALSO OWNED THE SHIP USED TO SALVAGE THE SAN JOSE AND RECEIVED SOME OF THE FINDINGS AND DESPITE ALL INEVITABLE LEGAL DISPUTES THE SALVAGING OF THE SAN JOSE HAS OCCURRED."