Beaker made from a silver bar from the wreck of HMS 'Lutine'.

Tall beaker decorated with spiral fluting and set on a raised foot. The base of the beaker is inset with a Spanish coin of 1797 showing Charles IV. The interior is gilt.

It is inscribed on one side with monograms: 'RD', 'EJS', '1870-1895' and on the other side: 'THIS CUP IS MADE FROM A SILVER BAR RECOVERED IN 1888 FROM THE WRECK OF H.M.S. LUTINE LOST ON THE ISLAND OF VLIELAND in October 1799 WHILE ON A VOYAGE FROM YARMOUTH TO CUXHAVEN WITH TREASURE, December 1888'.

The 'Lutine' was originally a French naval frigate of 26 guns, launched at Toulon in 1779. In 1793 she was added to the British fleet and two years later rebuilt as a 38-gun frigate. On 9 October 1799 she sank in a gale between the Dutch islands of Vlieland and Terschelling while carrying a large cargo of gold and coin from Yarmouth to Cuxhaven. There was only one survivor. Salvage attempts were curtailed by the silting up of the wreck, which was again uncovered between 1857 and 1859. The gold was insured by Lloyd's of London, which paid the claim in full, and in 1858 Lloyd's estimated the total value at £1,200,000. Although there have been a number of salvage attempts, and some relics of the ship have been recovered, most of the gold has never been found. However, the bell of HMS 'Lutine' was recovered in 1858 and hangs in Lloyd's to this day.

The tradition of striking the bell when news of an overdue ship arrived, once for a loss, and twice for her safe return, ceased after 1989, because the bell is cracked. It is now rung only for ceremonial purposes to commemorate national disasters or a royal death, and on Armistice Day.