Lost Scilly Shipwreck Coin Resurfaces: Rare Treasure from HMS Association Goes Under the Hammer

A rare coin recovered from the wreck of HMS Association, one of the most tragic disasters in British maritime history and a defining moment in the Isles of Scilly’s story, is heading to auction in London this December.

The Ancient, British and World Coins sale will take place on Tuesday 9th December 2025 at Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s on the Strand and online via sgbaldwins.com.

A Cornwall Disaster That Changed Navigation Forever

HMS Association sank off the Isles of Scilly in October 1707 while returning from the Mediterranean after taking part in the Toulon campaign during the War of the Spanish Succession. Severe weather claimed four Royal Navy ships, with around 1,450 men lost and only 24 survivors. It remains one of the worst disasters in British naval history and a defining event in Scilly’s maritime past.

Richard Larn OBE, president of the International Maritime Archaeological and Shipwreck Society, once said, “It is doubtful if any collection of rocks in the whole of the British Isles has a worse reputation.”

At the time there was no reliable way to determine longitude at sea. Sailors relied on a guessing process called dead reckoning. The scale of the HMS Association tragedy is believed to have spurred parliament to introduce the Longitude Act of 1714, which offered a £20,000 Longitude Prize to anyone who could solve the problem. John Harrison, a carpenter turned clockmaker from Yorkshire, eventually did so after 25 years and four attempts, unveiling his marine chronometer in 1759.

Rediscovered in Scilly Waters After Two Centuries

The wreck remained scattered on the seabed for 200 years. A search began in 1963, but it was not until 4th July 1967 that a team located a bronze cannon and gold coins on the Gilstone Ledge off the Scillies. Over the following six weeks they raised French cannons, gold and silver coins, pewter plates and a wide range of artefacts including buckles, buttons, candlesticks and combs. One of the French cannons was donated to the Valhalla Museum on Tresco.

Once news spread, amateur salvagers rushed to the sites around the islands and removed items without record. With finds quickly dispersed across the world, Richard Larn petitioned his MP to push for protections. This led to the Protection of Wrecks Act in 1973. There are now 24 protected wrecks in UK waters, three of them off the Isles of Scilly. HMS Association is one and its wreck site still contains scores of iron cannon.

A Piece of Scilly History Heads to Auction

Among the shipwreck pieces up for sale is a Charles II silver Cob of 8 Reales from Bolivia, dated 1686 and weighing 25.41g. The coin shows saltwater corrosion and a flan crack. It sank with HMS Association in 1707 and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. It is estimated at £300 to £400.

Another shipwreck coin on offer is a silver Rooswijk 8 Reales (1737) from Mexico featuring Philip V. The Rooswijk sank on 9th January 1740 on the Goodwin Sands off Kent, with 237 crew lost and more than 300,000 guilders in gold and silver on board. This coin is graded Very Fine with saltwater damage and is estimated at £200 to £300.

Highlights Across the Sale

The auction also includes a wide range of ancient, British and world coins. Ancient highlights feature Greek silver such as Syracuse tetradrachms and a rare Medusa stater from Neapolis. Roman offerings include a portrait denarius of Pompey the Great, an Augustus sestertius and a rare aureus of Vitellius. Celtic gold, silver and bronze issues add further depth.

British coins range from Anglo Saxon pieces to hammered and milled issues from rulers including Offa, Edward the Martyr, Edward IV, Henry VIII and Charles I. Standout lots include a 1729 EIC Five Guineas, an 1813 Military Guinea, a 1937 Five Pounds and nineteenth century proofs and key date currency coins. Scotland is represented with rare gold of James VI and Charles I.

World and Islamic highlights include Islamic gold and silver, Australian sovereigns, a newly discovered Kuwait gold Pattern 3 Dinars and a Proof 1949 New Zealand Crown. The auction closes with global rarities such as a 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling.

More information is available at www.sgbaldwins.com