As I mentioned, I always tend to search further, and in this case, as much as reluctant to say so, the true nature of this ingot is indeed suspect.
Kidd was in Isle St.Marie in 1699, at this point vs. his first 'pirate' prey, Capt Culliford. Unfortunately Kidds three ships were in terrible shape, the "Adventure Galley"; The Quedah Merchant (a captured Indian merchant vessel) and the "Rouparelle" (also captured, renamed 'November').
Many of Kidds men basically began to mutiny and go to the 'pirate' side, from there things get hazy.
Some say Culliford sank 'November' and left Kidd after stripping the other two ships of materials. What seems odd is that the 'treasure' held on the Quedah Merchant was not taken.
Kidd, took everything remaining off the now nearly sinking 'Adventure Galley' and put aboard the Quedah Merchant to head for New York.
It remains unclear which of the two ships, 'Rouparelle' or 'Adventure Galley' was burned or sunk, but whatever the case, they never left Isle St. Marie.
The 'treasure' on the Quedah Merchant consisted of silver and gold, presumably of both bullion and coin, and some rich textiles, but these were of Indian extraction, so presumably any bullion would most likely have been East India Company.
Which begs the question, 'why would an abnormally heavy silver ingot from Potosi (Bolivia) be found in what is believed to be the remains of the Kidd ship (either of the two abandoned there) . While Kidd may have had plunder from the Indian vessel(s), he had not accessed Spanish vessels (as far as I can find) in these waters .
In looking through information on Spanish silver ingot markings and detail from 17th century and Potosi (Bolivia) in particular, the markings on the Clifford ingot seem somewhat in the same fashion with initials, but lack the other key stamps and marks that characterize Potosi bars. Especially notable is the absence of the assayers 'bite', a scoop taken out by the assayer for testing (and exclusively a practice used at Potosi), with these findings always stamped in the bar along with date and bar number.
In looking into detail on the lead ballast ingots used in ships in these times, it does seem that they were made in these heavy weights ( large pigs) and some smaller, with the shape rather 'boat like' and often with convex facings. They often used stamped markings, initials and dates, but in far less frequency and without any of the often profuse detail of the silver bars of Spain or others presumably .
Also notable is the fact that this is a single bar, and ballast rubble seems to be in mounds in mass, especially in shallow water where a ship simply sank or foundered as careened....or again, was burned. In deep water wrecks the ballast or other contents may be strewn over an area as the ship comes apart and descends.
Interesting research, but would have preferred to find more positive evidence FOR Mr. Clifford's case. Still, I very much look forward to rebuttal's from his group, as mine is simply from various published material, and certainly limited in comparison to his experience and professional expertise.
I still wonder if Vandoo had something there with the silver coated lead ingot idea. Perhaps there was clandestine 'salting ' of these sites, as Mr Clifford has been searching them since 2000. In publications in 2002 and others, nothing had been found but a number of sundry items like bottles etc. which could be debris off any number of the many vessels in this burgeoning pirate haven of those times . As Rick mentioned, the Captain Kidd enterprise like many treasure hunt schemes knows few bounds, and it seems quite possible this might have been a snare placed in Mr. Cliffords corner, if the claims against this artifact/item are true.
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