East India Company ; Madras Presidency Denomination : 20 Cash ; UNC

Description

East India Company ; Madras Presidency
Denomination : 20 Cash ; UNC
An East India Company ship, the Admiral Gardner, sank on the Goodwin Sands in January 1809 carrying cargo of copper coins, including 20 Cash pieces, intended for the Madras Presidency; the wreck was discovered in 1984, making these shipwreck coins valuable historical artifacts today.
Obv : Coat of arms of the East India Company: 2 lions, St George’s cross on the crest and flags, motto on the ribbon “Auspicio Regis et Senatus Anglia”, date below
” EAST INDIA COMPANY
AUSPICIO REGIS & SENATUS ANGLIA
1808 ”
** Translation: By the authority of the King and Parliament of England **
Engraver: John Phillp
Rev : The value in Persian: Bist kas chahar falus ast, Value in English below
All within a plain raised rim.
Scripts: Arabic, Latin
Lettering:
بست کس چهار فلوس است
XX.CASH.
Translation: Twenty cash make four falus
Engraver: John Phillp
Mint : Soho Mint, Handsworth, England (1788-1850)
Note : Details of the Wreck:
Ship: Admiral Gardner (an East Indiaman).
Date: Sank on January 25, 1809, after encountering a severe storm.
Location: Goodwin Sands, a treacherous area off the English coast known for shipwrecks.
Cargo: Included significant amounts of copper coins (20 Cash and 10 Cash) minted in Birmingham (Soho Mint) in 1808 for use in India.
Discovery & Salvage:
The wreck lay undisturbed for 176 years until its discovery in 1984.
Salvage efforts in the mid-1980s recovered these coins sealed in wax-lined barrels.
Coins are often identified by the reverse inscription, “XX Cash” (or “X Cash”) and the date “1808”.
Significance:
These coins are popular with collectors due to their history and provenance from a well-documented shipwreck.
The lost cargo was valued by the East India Company at over £21,000 at the time.