From the Galgo, 1639

Gold signet rings became increasingly popular from the 17th century as the ultimate portable mark of distinction. The ring bears a coat of arms of a crown sitting above a shield and may have been used with sealing wax to stamp letters.

The small, fast, pattachuelo El Galgo and the much larger store ship La Viga, two of the support vessels in the Tierre Firme Flota, were driven onto the Bermuda reefs by a hurricane on October 22, 1639. The 160 survivors stayed in Bermuda until February, and on their return to Europe, told of their treatment at the hands of their Bermudian hosts who charged exorbitant rates for room, board, and passage off the Island.

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