Sank 1784. A 'fair trade' wine bottle with dimpled bottom, rounded shoulders, tubular neck with chamfered rim; recovered from the wreck Peggy; with certificate and explanatory note. 737 grams, 26cm (10 1/4"). From an old Hampshire collection; recovered for the wreck of the barque Peggy, sank 1784, off Eilean Dubh, Scotland, UK, 1981. The sailing barque Peggy was engaged in the transport of French wine and brandy, and re-bottling it in Spanish port bottles in order to avoid the full rate of excise duty, on the orders of a Renfrew merchant, Mr. Duncan. Sailing from Portugal in 1784, the barque reached Eilean Dubh (Black Island) off the western coast of Scotland; having been detected and pursued by the Excise men, the skipper tried to put some of his cargo ashore in a boat. Overloaded, the boat was swamped and sank in ten fathoms of water. The bottles remained in the mud of the sound until 1986 when a diving team identified the location and began recovering the bottles. [No Reserve]

Fine condition, some encrustation.