Hidden beneath the turquoise waters off a stretch of Florida known as the “Treasure Coast,” a team of divers from a shipwreck salvage company has discovered a haul of long-lost Spanish treasure they estimate is worth $1 million.
This summer, more than 1,000 silver and gold coins, believed to have been minted in the Spanish colonies of Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru, were uncovered off Florida’s Atlantic coast, as announced this week by 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC.
Centuries ago, the fortune was being transported back to Spain when a hurricane wrecked the fleet’s ships on July 31, 1715, spilling the treasures into the sea, according to the 1715 Fleet Society.
Over time, millions of dollars in gold coins from the 1715 Fleet have been discovered by salvagers and treasure hunters in the coastal stretch from Melbourne to Fort Pierce.
Dates and mint marks are still visible on some of the recently recovered coins, according to the salvage company, benefiting historians and collectors eager to learn more from the lost treasure.
“This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells,” said Sal Guttuso, director of operations for the salvage company, in a statement. “Each coin is a piece of history, a tangible link to the people who lived, worked, and sailed during the Golden Age of the Spanish Empire. Finding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary.”
Last year, Florida officials announced they had recovered dozens of gold coins stolen by salvagers from the wreck. The suspect was identified as a family member of the team contracted by 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC to work the site.
Under Florida law, any “treasure trove” or other historic artifacts “abandoned” on state-owned lands or in state waters belong to the state, though excavators can be permitted to carry out “recovery services.” The law requires that roughly 20% of the recovered archaeological materials be retained by the state for research collections or public display.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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