Item 105075 - Potosi (Bolivian) Two Reales Cob coin, Castine, ca. 1738
- Item 105075 - Potosi (Bolivian) Two Reales Cob coin, Castine, ca. 1738
- Contributed by Maine Historical Society
- Item 105075
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Image Info This Two Reales Cob coin was part of a cache found at the mouth of the Bagaduce River in 1840, indicating the area's thriving trade in the 1600s.
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Present day Castine was a contested area of overlapping Wabanaki, English and French claims for centuries. In 1674, during a period of French control, Dutch privateers attacked the fort and took the Baron of Saint-Castin (Jean Vincent d’Abbadie) and others hostage for ransom. When Saint-Castin returned to Castine in 1677, he established a trading post among Wabanakis on the Bagaduce River, about six miles from the old fort.
In 1684 Chief Madockawando’s daughter, Pidianiske (baptized as Molly Mathilde), married Saint-Castin and solidified the alliance between the French and Penobscot. Family ties and reciprocal relations gave Saint-Castin a stronger footing among Wabanaki people than the English settlers and traders encroaching up the coast.
The coin was stamped with the relief of a crest in center and text that is no longer legible. The reverse side featured a crown and the text "P/2/V/L/SVI/TR?/?/83/P."