Need help identifying true origin

Schavey877 · Jul 23, 2021

Hello I have this door/hatch made into coffee table.
This was my dad's that he got in Florida. The info he got was it originally came from a shipwreck of Spanish galleon. I haven't been able to verify. Any help would be appreciated. I love it and would like to give the correct info when people ask about it.[SUP][/SUP]

BAW · Jul 23, 2021

Use of galvanized screws and fittings indicates that it is comparatively new. Perhaps made especially for use as a tabletop; Certainly not from a Spanish galleon.

Schavey877 · Jul 24, 2021

Here is some more pictures I think the screws were add to hold the banding on later in life. Or the wood it self was from ship

petejc · Jul 24, 2021

I was in a restaurant 30 years ago and don't remember where but the tables were all exactly like that...I'm sure they were not originals but copies of some old ship thing...I know that doesn't help ..just thought I'd tell ya.

islamoradamark · Jul 24, 2021

welcome to Treasurenet

GoDeep · Jul 24, 2021

Well, lets put it this way, the only way to readily tell if the wood came from an old Spanish ship is you would need to find the exact ship it came off of, take samples of the wood from that ship and have them lab analyzed against yours to see if they match, even then, they may only be able to give your a probability percentage that it came off that ship.

Otherwise, it sure is a nice story.

CreakyDigger · Jul 24, 2021

GoDeep said:
Well, lets put it this way, the only way to readily tell if the wood came from an old Spanish ship is you would need to find the exact ship it came off of, take samples of the wood from that ship and have them lab analyzed against yours to see if they match, even then, they may only be able to give your a probability percentage that it came off that ship.

Otherwise, it sure is a nice story.

It may not be from an old ship. But to say "the only way to readily tell if the wood came from an old Spanish ship" is to find the exact ship it came off of is ludicrous. People find remnants of things all of the time, without knowing the exact source that they come from. One may find a shipwreck coin on the beach; that one is not required to say what exact shipwreck it came from to know that it is a shipwreck coin. One may find a Native American arrowhead; it is absurd to say that the finder must identify the specific Native American who made it, or must doubt that it is a NA artifact.

Gene Mean · Jul 24, 2021

If you can identify the type of wood that might help lend some credence.

Almy · Jul 24, 2021

The wood looks like pine. The piece does look old and fairly crude. The extensive checking suggests it was very wet at one point. The black stain looks like it is from metal, perhaps iron, if it goes deeply into the wood. If a deep iron stain, it is further evidence of submersion in water. If the black is on the surface, it is probably mold. If it was in the sea for very long, there should be some salt in it, particularly in end grain. You might be able to see of taste the grains of salt.

Schavey877 · Jul 24, 2021

The wood is deeply stained this was purpose built my dad made it into table. Metal seems galvanized. This was becoming very popular in the 1850s.
I think it must be a hold/cargo door.

Rmeav8r · Jul 24, 2021

That?s a hatch over table, made from pine. Used to cover the many deck hatches on 1930?s - 1940?s metal ships. There are hundreds of them here in Panama City Florida in homes and restaurants. The covers were used by the thousands on Liberty Ships and other era ships built during WW2. The reason there are so many hatch cover tables here is because the ships were gathered here after the war for scrap. I?ve seen thousands piled up in huge stacks, no scrap value so they were discarded. There were so many they were free for the taking. Some were used to make docks others into tables, the best ones were resin filled, really heavy but nice as furniture. They last forever if poured over with clear resin, they have outlasted the ships they were made for. Search hatch cover table, you will see some very expensive examples with wrought iron legs. You can still find them stashed in garages here locally….projects that ever happened.

“The Liberty and Victory ships were the last vessels to be made with wooden hatch covers. About 1,000 Liberty ships were made during War II. Each was equipped with about 400 - 500 hatches to allow access to its cargo.”