Very Rare 1699 Second Bust Sixpence William III ASSOCIATION shipwreck 1707

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This is a rare English , William III silver sixpence coin dated 1696 or 1697 . It is a 2nd Bust with 'hair across the chest '.Unfortunately it suffered badly in the wreck or during excavation and a bit was chopped off !! It is still a wonderful coin and memento from this most famous Flagship - the first treasure wreck found in English waters !! t .It comes complete with a fine detailed certificate which is personally signed by the salvors and in a presentation box. ASSOCIAION -SIR CLOWDISLEY SHOVELL SCILLY NAVAL DISASTER 1707 Scilly naval disaster of 1707 is an umbrella term for the events of 22 October 1707 that led to the sinking of a British naval fleet off the Isles of Scilly . With four large ships and more than 1,400 sailors lost in stormy weather, it was one of the greatest maritime disasters in the history of the British Isles . It was later determined that the main cause of the disaster was the navigators ' inability to accurately calculate their positions . Background In summer of 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession , a combined British, Austrian and Dutch force under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy besieged and attempted to take the French port of Toulon . During this campaign , which was fought from 29 July to 21 August, Great Britain dispatched a fleet to provide naval support. Led by the Commander-in-Chief of the British Fleets , Sir Cloudesley Shovell , the ships sailed to the Mediterranean, attacked Toulon and also managed to inflict damage on the French fleet caught in the siege. The overall campaign was nevertheless unsuccessful and the alliance was ultimately defeated by Franco -Spanish units. The British fleet was subsequently ordered to return home, and set sail from Gibraltar to Portsmouth in late October. The force under Shovell's command consisted of fifteen ships of the line ( Association , Royal Anne , Torbay , St George , Cruizer , Eagle , Lenox , Monmouth , Orford , Panther , Romney , Rye , Somerset , Swiftsure , Valeur ) as well as four fireships ( Firebrand , Griffin , Phoenix , Vulcan ), the sloop Weazel and the yacht Isabella Shovell's fleet of twenty-one ships left Gibraltar on 29 September, with HMS Association serving as his own flagship, HMS Royal Anne as flagship of Vice-Admiral of the Blue Sir George Byng and HMS Torbay as flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir John Norris .[2] The passage was marked by extremely bad weather and constant squalls and gales . As the fleet sailed out on the Atlantic , passing the Bay of Biscay on their way to England, the weather worsened and storms gradually pushed the ships off their planned course. Finally, on the night of 22 October 1707 ( Old Style , 2 November 1707 by the modern calendar ), the squadron entered the mouth of the English Channel and Shovell's sailing masters believed that they were on the last leg of their journey. [3] The fleet was thought to be sailing safely west of Ushant , an island outpost off the coast of Brittany .[4] However, due to a combination of the bad weather and the mariners' inability to accurately calculate their longitude , the fleet was unaware that it was off course and closing in on the Isles of Scilly instead. [5] Before their mistake could be corrected, the fleet struck rocks and four ships were lost: · HMS Association , a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Edmund Loades, smashed into the Outer Gilstone Rock off Scilly’s Western Rocks at 8 p.m. and sank, drowning her entire crew of about 800 men and Admiral Shovell himself. [7] [8] Following behind the Association was St George ,[9] whose crew saw the flagship go down in three or four minutes. St George also struck rocks and suffered damage but eventually managed to get off, as did HMS Phoenix which ran ashore between Tresco and but could be kept seaworthy. · HMS Eagle , a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Robert Hancock hit the Crim Rocks and was lost with all hands on Tearing Ledge amongst the Western Rocks . Sinking a few hundred metres... read more

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