Description

In 1784, the ill-fated ship, El Cazador, The Hunter was headed toward New Orleans from Vera Cruz, Mexico. The ship was laden with 450,000 pesos, which were intended to solidify Spain’s holdings of approximately one million square miles of America’s heartland, called the Louisiana Territory. The vessel and her crew disappeared without a trace, never arriving to help stabilize the economy. In 1803, Napoleon and President Thomas Jefferson struck a deal called the Louisiana Purchase. The U.S. purchased this land for three cents an acre. The U.S. doubled in size, taking on the familiar shape that defines it today. This may never have happened if not for the shipwreck that changed the world.  This silver half real coin is hand-set in a 14kt gold pendant.