Our Money Chain measures 22 inches long. It is made from 18k Royal Yellow Gold & weighs 119.4 grams. This piece features a T-bar clasp safety mechanism.

This replica chain is composed of links produced from molds of an original Spanish Colonial “Money Chain” found by Mel Fisher on the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. This famous Spanish Galleon was driven onto a reef forty miles off present day Key West during a hurricane in September of 1622 and remained lost until Fisher’s discovery of the Mother Lode in 1985.

In the Colonial era, the Spanish king placed a twenty percent tariff known as the Royal Fifth on gold bullion. However, gold jewelry was exempt from this tax. Thus these chains became a popular means of transporting wealth by travelers returning to Spain. The links were made from cross-form cross-section wire, and alternated between a straight and twisted configuration. Each high karat gold link was of roughly equal size and weight and could be twisted off individually and used as a medium of exchange.