Now, applying the same method of decoding to the EN RADA cartouche, we can discern nine, ten, or more discrete letters, of which I offer (upper line): E, L, A, N, I and possibly V; and (lower line) P, R, I, V, A, N, and most definitely D and A. 
 
 
 
CONCLUSIONS
No real conclusions can be made until Dr. Lyon, or some other scholar or archivist, can produce original ancient Spanish documents with this symbol connected to a name. The monogram, as has been suggested, could spell out a place name, such as the mine, mint, or country of the bar’s origin. But it could just as well be a person’s name —an assayer or consignor, for instance. Or perhaps it is a religious phrase. 
In closing, let me say that I extracted the letters visible to me, jumbled them all around in my head, and came up with a very unlikely candidate for the translation: LA VENA “the vein (of ore)” PRIVADA “private (or favorite)”...“the private (or favorite) vein”...of who?

POSTSCRIPT

All of the above was written in 1988 quite a while after the first EN RADA bar was recovered. Since then, maybe a dozen or more of these beautiful ingots of gold have been found on the “Atocha Trail” and on the “Deep Water Wreck” of 1622 off the Dry Tortugas. Credit for solving the “mystery” of the “EN RADA” monogram must be awarded to researcher/archivist John deBry, who found original documents tying the cartouche to the Peña-Randa family (all the letters are there!) of Colombia, who were very much involved in the refining of gold and forming it into ingots for export to Spain in the 1600s. UPDATE, 17 Oct 2000: The Peña-Randa cartouche was known to, and identified by, Ms. Leontine Metz, researcher at the archives in Seville. Mr. deBry later published this finding. (Per Greg Stemm of Odyssey Marine Exploration, a principal in the "Deep Water Wreck" project.) 

*Photos of the EN RADA bar appear in the books referred to below, on the pages indicated. There are also detailed pictures of this treasure on our website, the first being proof that I once fondled it...fondly. --EJR 
 
 
 
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