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Feature Object

Spanish pillar from the wreck of Dunbar

This coin recovered from ship Dunbar wrecked off Sydney’s South Head in 1857 was recently unearthed by a volunteer in the SA Maritime Museum’s storage area.  It’s one of our ‘mystery’ objects.  The coin dates from 1807 and is a Spanish pillar (or piece of eight).  One side has been smoothed and roughly etched with a dove and olive branch and the other side engraved with the initials ‘IP’ and the date 1814.

We can only guess at the origins and meaning of this worked coin but there are some tantalising clues. The dove and olive branch symbolise peace and 1814 was a time of short-lived peace in battle-ravaged Europe.  In the first decade of the nineteenth century the French Empire, under Napoleon Bonaparte, waged a series of conflicts - the Napoleonic Wars - involving every major European power.  After a flush of victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe.  The French invasion of Russia in 1812, however, marked a turning point in Napoleon's fortunes.  His Grande Armée was battered in the campaign and never recovered.  In 1814 the Sixth Coalition invaded France, forced Napoleon to abdicate, and exiled him to the island of Elba.

The etchings suggest that this coin was owned by someone to whom Napoleon’s defeat was significant.  Who then, was ‘IP’?  The migrant ship Dunbar carried seamen who may have served with the Royal Navy.  The Dunbar’s passenger list included seaman Paul Pilotte, midshipman JB Piercey, and third officer John Pascoe.  In the early 19th century the letter ‘i’ was often substituted for ‘j’ (reflecting the absence of the letter ‘j’ in the Latin alphabet).  IP could have referred to John Pascoe or JB Piercey.  In 1857 however both would have been very old men if they had fought in the Napoleonic Wars.  Perhaps the coin was etched by a father or close relative who had fought in the British Royal Navy, and carried as a keepsake or good luck talisman.  The bitter irony here is that a coin commemorating peace in Europe was lost with its owner in the worst maritime disaster in peacetime Australia. 

Objects like the Dunbar coin can lead curators in fascinating directions.  The coin encourages us to reflect on the plight of the Dunbar.  This sleek sailing ship was carrying over 120 passengers when it missed the entrance to the Heads on 20 August 1857 and rammed into the cliffs.  Only one crewman, James Johnson, survived by clinging to the steep rock face. The death toll staggered the small community of Sydney and 20,000 people lined George Street for the funeral procession.  These seemingly mundane objects hint at the dangers of immigrant travel in the 19th century. 

While this Spanish dollar is special because of its modification, the SA Maritime Museum has other unworked Spanish pillars from the Dunbar.  The variety of currency retrieved from this shipwreck tells us something about Australia’s economy.  In 1857 Australia did not have its own currency and Spanish silver was legitimate tender.  These pillars may well have been a migrant’s precious savings for a new life in the colonies.

As an artifact the coin is an example of a type of folk art particularly associated with sailors and sea voyages.  ‘Worked’ coins were smoothed and then engraved or stippled by their makers as keepsakes.  The National Maritime Museum in London has an impressive collection of worked coins crafted by seamen that commemorate ships, voyages and sea battles. The best known Australian examples are the coins engraved with convict details and messages of affection.  Convict tokens or ‘leaden hearts’, as they were nicknamed, were often engraved for a prisoners’ loved one or family.  

The Spanish pillar is part of a vast amount of archaeological material removed or excavated from the wreck of the Dunbar including bottles, buttons, anchors, and nautical instruments.  The largest collection of Dunbar material is owned by the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.  This particular coin belongs to a collection of shipwreck relics salvaged by amateur diver Gavan Berecry in the decades before the introduction of the Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976) protecting wreck sites.  Along with the Dunbar material it includes an evocative collection from South Australia’s shipwreck coast.  Many of these relics along with the stories of those who owned them are currently on display in Wrecked! Tragedy and the Southern Seas at the SA Maritime Museum.   
We would be very interested in hearing from anyone who may have more clues on our Dunbar coin.