Salvage crew discovers $1M in treasure aboard 300-year-old Florida shipwreck
Discovering a Boatload of Treasure: Salvage Crew Recovers $1 Million Worth of Coins from Spanish Shipwreck
During a recent salvage operation on the shipwreck of a Spanish fleet that sank over 300 years ago, a remarkable discovery was made by the crew – over 1,000 gold and silver coins worth a staggering $1 million. The coins were found by Capt. Levin Shavers and his team on the wreck of a fleet that sank during a hurricane in July 1715 off Florida’s Treasure Coast.
The coins, which included roughly 1,000 silver coins known as “Reales” and five gold coins referred to as “Escudos,” were found preserved beneath centuries of sand and sea. In addition to the coins, other rare gold artifacts were also discovered during the operation.
According to a news release from Queens Jewels, LLC, which owns the salvage rights to the 1715 fleet, the estimated value of the recovered coins is $1 million. This find is part of the approximately $400 million in gold, silver, and jewels lost when the Spanish fleet sank, making it one of the greatest maritime tragedies.
The loot buried along Florida’s east coastline during the storm earned the area the nickname “Treasure Coast.” The recovered coins will now undergo careful conservation before being displayed to the public in local Florida museums.
Sal Guttuso, Director of Queens Jewels, expressed the significance of the discovery, stating, “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.”
The coins, minted in the Spanish colonies of Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia, still had legible dates and mint marks over 300 years later. Experts believe that the coins could have been part of a single chest or shipment that spilled when the ship broke apart in the hurricane.
“Every find helps piece together the human story of the 1715 fleet,” Guttuso added. “We are committed to preserving and studying these artifacts so future generations can appreciate their historical significance.”
