A Third-rate Ship Sinks with 10 Tons of Gold Aboard *
The HMS Sussex is on a secret mission. The Sussex is a third-rate ship-of-the-line leading a convoy of over 40 war ships and 166 merchantmen into the Mediterranean. Convoy protection is a normal function of the British Navy, but the Sussex is carrying its own secret cargo... 10 tons of gold coins worth over 344 million dollars (as of December 2015). The gold is destined for the Duke of Savoy. As the convey passes the rock of Gibraltar, a sudden storm sends HMS Sussex to the bottom. Only two sailors will survive and the Admiral's body will wash up on shore, dressed in his nightshirt.    
It's the Bank of ENGLAND! What Could Go Wrong?
In the war against France, King William the 3rd of England is running out of money, especially after the recent disastrous Battle of Beachy Head. He needs to build a modern navy, but the King can't get credit to save his life. If he cannot win this war (or at least not lose it) he will literally lose his life and the previous King James the 2nd will return from France to take the British throne. So, in order to get financing, King William starts the Bank of England and allows the bank to handle the British government accounts. This close association between the government and the bank lends respectability to the Bank of England. People start making deposits; the bank lends that money to England and the King builds his navy.  
A Chapel for the Shroud of Turin
The city of Turin is located within Duchy of Savoy. Several years ago the Turin Cathedral began construction of a chapel to house the Shroud of Turin. That construction is completed this year. The shroud is purported to be the cloth that the body of Jesus was wrapped in when his body was removed from the cross and placed in a temporary tomb. The actual history of the cloth has not been well documented until after the mid-1400s. It will remain the property of the House of Savoy until 1983 when it will be transferred to the Catholic Church in Rome.    
This Year on Wikipedia
Year 1694, Wikipedia.
- * The asterisk in the section header indicates that it was read on the podcast.
- HMS Sussex 1694 - Shipwreck found off Gibraltar by Oydessy Marine. Andalucia.com (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015. “Research indicates that her Admiral also had a secret mission: to pay a large sum of money to the Duke of Savoy, an ally of Britain in the War of the League of Augsburg. This was a coalition, also also known as the Grand Alliance, against the Sun King, Louis XIV, whose expansionist ambitions for France they wanted to curb.”
- HMS Sussex (1693) - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015. “As the flagship of Admiral Sir Francis Wheler, she set sail from Portsmouth on 27 December 1693, escorting a fleet of 48 warships and 166 merchant ships to the Mediterranean.”
- HMS Sussex Facts - HMS Sussex History - HMS Sussex Information. Monaco Rare Coins (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015. “At the time the ship was believed to merely be a member of the British Navy fleet fighting in the battle against the French Forces. But nearly 310 years later it has been revealed that the British Admiral was really part of a secret diplomatic mission.”
- Gold Price Calculator (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015. “On December 15, 2015, the price per ounce of gold is $1,076.90.”
- Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015. “In 1695 and 1696, he secretly negotiated a separate treaty with Louis XIV of France which included the return of Pinerolo to Savoy.”
- Alex Shrugged notes:, a "third-rate" ship-of-the-line is actually the best all around ship for the type of broadside war tactics that they used near the end of the 17th century. Thus "third-rate" is not a disparaging label. It simply means that it carries 80 guns on two decks.
- Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market. gutenberg.org (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015.
- Bank of England - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 28 August 2015. “England's crushing defeat by France, the dominant naval power, in naval engagements culminating in the 1690 Battle of Beachy Head, became the catalyst for England's rebuilding itself as a global power. England had no choice but to build a powerful navy. No public funds were available, and the credit of William III's government was so low in London that it was impossible for it to borrow the £1,200,000 (at 8 per cent) that the government wanted. To induce subscription to the loan, the subscribers were to be incorporated by the name of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. The Bank was given exclusive possession of the government's balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue bank notes. The lenders would give the government cash (bullion) and issue notes against the government bonds, which can be lent again. The £1.2m was raised in 12 days; half of this was used to rebuild the navy. As a side effect, the huge industrial effort needed, from establishing iron-works to make more nails to agriculture feeding the quadrupled strength of the navy, started to transform the economy. This helped the new Kingdom of Great Britain – England and Scotland were formally united in 1707 – to become powerful. The power of the navy made Britain the dominant world power in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The establishment of the bank was devised by Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, in 1694, to the plan which had been proposed by William Paterson three years before, but not acted upon. He proposed a loan of £1.2m to the government; in return the subscribers would be incorporated as The Governor and Company of the Bank of England with long-term banking privileges including the issue of notes. The Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694.”
- Subprime mortgage crisis - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015. “Examples of vulnerabilities in the public sector included: statutory gaps and conflicts between regulators; ineffective use of regulatory authority; and ineffective crisis management capabilities. Bernanke also discussed 'Too big to fail' institutions, monetary policy, and trade deficits.”
- William Devane Rosland Capital Commercial: Protect Your IRA. YouTube (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015. “After the economic collapse in 2008, the government bailed out the banks, but who bailed you out?”
- James Heller - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 15 December 2015. “In season 9 it is revealed that Heller is the President of the United States.”
- Chapel of the Holy Shroud - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 9 December 2015. “The chapel was constructed to house the Shroud of Turin (Sindone di Torino), a religious relic believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth.”
- Turin - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 9 December 2015. “Turin is well known as the home of the Shroud of Turin, the football teams Juventus F.C. and Torino F.C., the headquarters of automobile manufacturers FIAT, Lancia and Alfa Romeo, Iveco and as host of the 2006 Winter Olympics and, in the same year, the 37th Chess Olympiad. Several International Space Station modules, such as Harmony and Columbus, were also manufactured in Turin. It was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy from 1563, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy.”
- Shroud of Turin - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 9 December 2015. “The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud (Italian: Sindone di Torino) is a length of linen cloth bearing the image of a man that is believed by some Christians to be the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth. Radiocarbon dating has dated it to the Medieval period. The shroud is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy.”
- Turin Cathedral - Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved on 9 December 2015. “The Chapel of the Holy Shroud, the current resting place of the Shroud of Turin, was added to the structure in 1668–94.”