Meet the Jewelers
Loukas Kongos
Loukas & Antonio Kongos
Antonio Kongos
OUR MISSION
Mineshaft Designs & Treasures is a jewelry business that marries the elegance of gold and precious stone pieces with the strength and practicality of sterling silver. Mineshaft Designs was founded on the principles of honesty and respect for our clients. The goal of our shop is to bring our community high-quality, handmade jewelry at a reasonable price. Our hope is that we can sell our customers pieces they can enjoy for a lifetime.
We specialize in custom mountings of certified authentic historical coins, one-of-a-kind jewelry, and repairs. Our jewelers utilize precious metals, precious and semi-precious stones in our creations. Our primary market consists of individuals and families that have an appreciation for carefully crafted art in the form of worn jewelry, that is never mass produced. We often connect with coin collectors and people who are fascinated with history. We have been happily serving the sunny, beautiful Florida Keys and beyond for over 10 years. We continuously adapt and incorporate new designs so that our pieces remain unique.
AUTHENTIC ANCIENT GREEK COINS
Greece before the Common Era was a robust civilization with locally and independently governed cities, called “poleis.” Greece during this time was characterized by longstanding conflict that sometimes resulted in wars between these city-states. B.C. Greece is known for their esteemed arts, revered architecture, rich mythology, existential philosophy, and advanced mathematics, just to name a few. The culture of the Ancient and Classical times of Greece is so important because it influenced the Roman Empire and even much of the modern western culture we experience and enjoy today.
The Nuestra Señora de Atocha
Nuestra Señora de Atocha also known in spanish as "Our lady of Atocha" was a Spanish treasure galleon and the most widely known vessel of a fleet of ships that sank in a hurricane off the Florida Keys in 1622. At the time of her sinking, Nuestra Señora de Atocha was heavily laden with Copper, Silver, gold, tobacco, gems, and indigo from Spanish ports at Cartagena and Porto Bello and Havana, bound for Spain. The ship was named for the parish of Atocha in Madrid.
Much of the wreck of Nuestra Señora de Atocha was famously recovered by an American commercial treasure hunting expedition in 1985. Following a lengthy court battle against the State of Florida, the finders were ultimately awarded sole ownership of the rights to the treasure.
SHOP BELOW FOR ATOCHA TREASURES
Ancient roman coins
The story of Ancient Rome highlights the transformation from a small city that rapidly expanded to become one of the largest and most powerful empires in history. Early Ancient Rome was a Republic, meaning two elected magistrates held power. Because these leaders were chosen from the Senate (that was not elected), this time was rife with power struggle between the patricians and the plebeians. Governor at the time, Julius Caesar instigated a civil war, in which he won, effectively making him the sole dictator of Rome. Augustus carried on this aggressive legacy by winning another civil war and became the first Emperor of Rome, however, in his more than forty year reign, he was able to restore peace and prosperity to Rome. This empire lasted more than four centuries and gifted us with the modern Western alphabet and calendar, and a widespread emergence of Christianity as a major religion.
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