Spanish gold cross with emeralds

[oc plumber]

Hi everyone ,first post here.
Trying to help out my father in law, he has a gold cross with emeralds in it he believes came from a Spanish shipwreck or possibly a sunk nazi u boat , I did some research and read about the atocha that Mel fisher discovered and the piece seems to very similar. It does not seem to have any id marks and comes with no paper work but my fil swears he has seen it before in a show talking about treasure linked to some sunken nazi uboat in Florida keys. Any ways was hoping somebody could shed some light/info or at least point us in the right direction. Thank you

 

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[Heavygold4me]

how did he end up with it? I’m interested in the story behind it.

 

[Blak bart]

Good lord mate !! I've been dreaming about finding a cross like that for years. I live here in the keys, and have never herd this story before. It looks colonial spanish to me, and looks like an earring size ? Just guessing by the size of your thumb. The small articulated piece at the top of the cross looks like an earring setting. Also I can see the small blob at the base of the cross this is indicative of the Jerusalem cross used in Mexican coin mintage. Sure would love to see a few more pics please.

 

[Blak bart]

I've herd a story about someone finding a similar cross in the ft. Pierce inlet many years back !!

 

[Blak bart]

I can't figure out how this would be used....seems there is no way to wear it in your ear or on a chain....perhaps it was church related ?

 

[villagenut]

Is that a machined screw holding the swivel piece up top?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Is that a machined screw holding the swivel piece up top?

I'm with villagenut, can you take picture of the top, looks like a threaded screw in picture, but hard to see to be sure.

 

[oc plumber]

I'm with villagenut, can you take picture of the top, looks like a threaded screw in picture, but hard to see to be sure.

 

[oc plumber]

I'm with villagenut, can you take picture of the top, looks like a threaded screw in picture, but hard to see to be sure.

It simply looks like a pin was pounded through to create a swivel. It does not appear to be any type of screw.

 

[oc plumber]

I can't figure out how this would be used....seems there is no way to wear it in your ear or on a chain....perhaps it was church related ?

There is a hole in the swivel that it could be attached to a necklace

 

[oc plumber]

Update, my wife took it to a custom jeweler, and he said it appeared to be authentic and very old, due to its antiquity he advised us it would be impossible for any jeweler to give a valuation of it, but suggested we take it to a few auction houses that deal in the global market and see what they could do about getting it tested for us by x-raying it to make sure it is solid gold and have some more expert chime in about it’s authenticity. Any monies used would be simply to take care of my father-in-law even though honestly he was such a bastard to my sweet wife. He doesn’t deserve anything from her. She is just a good woman, and even better daughter trying to care for her father as his life choices made it, so he cannot do that for himself.

 

[oc plumber]

Updated pics

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

It simply looks like a pin was pounded through to create a swivel. It does not appear to be any type of screw.

Thanks for additional pictures, it looks more like a pin than screw with new pictures. It does look authentic, do you know where father in law got it from? You could take it to the Mel fisher museum and have them look at it, it is in Sebastian, Florida.

 

[oc plumber]

"Thanks for additional pictures, it looks more like a pin than screw with new pictures. It foes look authentic, do you know where father in law got it from. You could take it to the Mel fisher museum and have them look at it, it is in Sebastian, Florida."

I go to West Palm Beach 1 to 2 times a year to visit my mother-in-law and was thinking about bringing it out there and having them take a look at it but when I spoke to them over Facebook they said without any type of paperwork there wasn’t much they could do, I think I am going to make a phone call and speak to somebody on the phone

 

[villagenut]

Yup, definitely not a screw...a pin of gold. Could very well be a very old piece. Don't know if you could ever 100 percent say it was a shipwreck artifact without provenance......but it looks like a great artifact nonetheless. I would get the gold tested for a high karet, that would be an important part of its identity.

 

[oc plumber]

Good lord mate !! I've been dreaming about finding a cross like that for years. I live here in the keys, and have never herd this story before. It looks colonial spanish to me, and looks like an earring size ? Just guessing by the size of your thumb. The small articulated piece at the top of the cross looks like an earring setting. Also I can see the small blob at the base of the cross this is indicative of the Jerusalem cross used in Mexican coin mintage. Sure would love to see a few more pics please.

I added some more pics, out of curiosity if it was real and some kind of 1600-1700 Spanish gold cross what price range would you guess it’s at? I know a lot more work needs to happen on my part like testing etc but even if I can’t tie it to a shipwreck any $$$ you would estimate ?

 

[oc plumber]

Gold is 22k possibly higher , it’s extremely heavy

 

[Emil W]

I agree, style and construction point to it being an early piece, but I have one concern--the quality of the emeralds are not what would have been considered 'gem' quality back 300-400 years ago (unless it's just the photos that make the stones appear inferior).

It would be highly unusual for a maker back then to put so much effort into making this piece with stones that would have been typically rejected as 'not good enough' to use in a piece of fine jewelry. This may suggest it's a later copy. I admit I could be wrong.

I believe you need an analysis of the gold to see if it's comparable with period pieces.

 

[ARC]

A second thread ?

This is the one addressed by me... sorry for confusion...

🔎 UNIDENTIFIED - Gold cross with emeralds

Trying this in another forum hopefully is better suited here Hi everyone ,first post here. Trying to help out my father in law, he has a gold cross with emeralds in it he believes came from a Spanish shipwreck or possibly a sunk nazi u boat , I did some research and read about the atocha that...

www.treasurenet.com

 

[coin_diver]

Hi everyone ,first post here.
Trying to help out my father in law, he has a gold cross with emeralds in it he believes came from a Spanish shipwreck or possibly a sunk nazi u boat , I did some research and read about the atocha that Mel fisher discovered and the piece seems to very similar. It does not seem to have any id marks and comes with no paper work but my fil swears he has seen it before in a show talking about treasure linked to some sunken nazi uboat in Florida keys. Any ways was hoping somebody could shed some light/info or at least point us in the right direction. Thank you

It’s a period piece,k hand crafted and if you’ll note the emerald facets are cut by hand. Emeralds appear to be Mizo. Better get it to an appraiser who knows these pieces. Contact Taffey at Mel’s museum.