Panama Hoard

[divewrecks]

Can anyone refer me to any detailed written information on this find:

“Panama hoard,” lost ca. 1629 on the Camino Real trail in Panama

In the early 1990s the numismatic market began to hear about a massive find (tens of thousands) of early Potosí cobs (practically all 8 and 4 reales) in fabulous condition—in fact, totally uncorroded but with telltale orange clay on what were otherwise Mint State (or nearly so) surfaces. Soon this hoard took on many different names as the stories emerged: “Camino Real Trail hoard,” “Panama hoard,” and, curiously, “Mule Train hoard” (based on a rumor that the hoard was lost when a mule that was carrying the treasure fell over a cliff). The only thing that we know for certain is that the latest date on the coins in the hoard was 1629, which is when we presume it was lost.

This was from Frank Sedwicks web site: www.sedwickcoins.com

Stan

 

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[divewrecks]

Here is a coin said to be from the hoard. The seller is reputable, I have bought from him a couple of times...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Potosi-Cob-8-Reales-1621-T-RARE--_W0QQitemZ250372443701

Stan

 

[Mackaydon]

The conquistadors called the route El Camino Real — the Royal Road — and for 250 years it was the most important highway in the Spanish Main. It ran originally from Panama Viejo on the Pacific to the port of Nombre de Dios, and later to Portobelo, on the Caribbean, a 50-mile causeway, wide enough for two carts to pass, snaking through some of the densest jungle on earth. The crossing provided the Spanish with a solution to the logistical nightmare of getting all that plunder from Peru to the treasure houses of Seville.

Treasure ships discharged their booty onto mule trains in Panama Viejo and the precious loads were driven over the isthmus to be loaded onto galleons in the Caribbean.

Mules would sometimes fall hundreds of feet into the river below, dragged down by their burdens of booty. Indian slaves believed the water infested with snakes and their Spanish masters couldn’t persuade them to climb down and recover the gold. So they wrote the losses off and many believe the treasure is still there.
Don........


Source:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/latin_america/article625162.ece

 

[Chagy]

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...camino+real&start=20&gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&sa=N

 

[Chagy]

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ev=/images?q=camino+real+oro&gbv=2&hl=en&sa=G

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Amazing pictures Chagy. They must have packed all those rocks in there to try and create a bottom and keep the mules from sinking in the mud. They look like they have been scattered by treasure hunters in the second pic.

 

[perdidogringo]

Sorry to resurrect a very old thread but I'd like to make a slight correction with Chagy's photo of the mule rider on the trail. That trail in the photo is the Camino de Cruces, not the Camino Real. Both historical trails in Panama, but different ones.

Also, the first set of photos depicts a section of the camino real that is usually submerged in Lake Madden. At the end of every rainy season various sections of the Camino Real are exposed like this. The rocks are dispersed due to the actions of the water, not due to treasure hunters.