A diver at Queen’s Jewel at Salvage Shipwreck Company, located just off Florida’s Treasure Coast (areas that include Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin County and parts of Palm Beach counties), found a Spanish coin valued at around $1 million.
The company reports that just over 1,000 silver coins and gold coins have been recovered, and believes these coins originated from Spanish colonies in Bolivia, Peru and Mexico.
The historians’ group, the Fleet Association in 1715, explains that centuries ago there was a group of Spanish ships carrying gold, silver and gems known as the New World, returning to Spain when the ship was hit by a hurricane on July 31, 1715.
Sal Guttuso, operations director for Salvage Company, reports that the silver and gold coin dates and mint are still accurate.
“The discovery is not just about the treasure itself, but also about the story it tells. It’s rare and extraordinary to find 1,000 people in one recovery,” Guttuso said.
Guttuso explains how the dive team found some of the wreckage. They used underwater metal detection devices such as sand suction searches along the seabed. To separate the remaining material from the gold, they adopted a process known as “hand fanning.”
Who can keep what they find?
According to Florida law, a precious object or item with historical artifacts that may be abandoned in state-owned land or state waters and belong to the state. By Florida law, the state allows the state to retain 20% of archaeological items recovered for research collections or publication.
However, legal experts should note that sometimes items are divided into courts.
