^Lot 484 Large resin block containing four Dutch silver ducatoons, four Chinese porcelain shards, four musket

Large resin block containing four Dutch silver ducatoons, four Chinese porcelain shards, four musket-balls (spring-shot), a sword handle, and a large piece of wood, all from the wrecks of the Merestein (1702) and the Middelburg (1781), both off Saldanha Bay, South Africa, ex-Glendining. 20 lb total. 15½" x 3½" x 8". Very thick, transparent resin block containing a collage of original silver coins and small artifacts around a thick piece of wooden hull. The coins are large ducatoons of the Spanish and United Netherlands and come from the Merestein, as do a wire-wrapped sword handle and several spring-shot musket-balls, while the blue-and-white Chinese porcelain shards (one nearly complete) come from the Middelburg. We assume this piece was assembled for a museum display in the 1970s (probably in South Africa), with the ship names on a plastic plaque on top, and it does show some age, including cracks on the bottom, but it still makes a great display and really looks like the items are underwater. HEAVY—PICKUP IN PERSON RECOMMENDED. From the Merestein (1702) and the Middelburg (1781), some of the artifacts pedigreed to the Glendining (London) auction of October 1975, with Sedwick photo-certificate.