Hidden beneath the turquoise waters of a stretch of Florida’s coast known as the “Treasure Coast,” a team of divers from a shipwreck salvage company has discovered precisely that: a cargo of long-lost Spanish treasures, estimated to be worth $1 million.
More than 1,000 silver and gold coins believed to have been minted in the Spanish colonies of Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru were unearthed this summer off the Atlantic coast of Florida, according to an announcement this week by 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC.
It’s not the first time the site has revealed a true treasure.
Centuries ago, a fleet of Spanish ships laden with gold, silver, and jewels from the New World was returning to Spain when a hurricane wrecked the flotilla on July 31, 1715, spilling the treasures into the sea, according to the 1715 Fleet Society.
Over the years, salvagers and treasure hunters have found millions of dollars in gold coins from the 1715 fleet in a coastal area stretching from Melbourne to Fort Pierce.
According to the salvage company, in some of the recently recovered coins, the dates and mint marks can still be seen, which is an advantage for historians and collectors who hope to obtain more information about this lost treasure.
“This discovery is not just about the treasure itself, but about the stories it tells,” stated Sal Guttuso, director of operations for the salvage company. “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 1000 of them in a single recovery is something exceptional and extraordinary.”
The Guttuso team employs dive crews and a fleet of vessels, and uses underwater metal detection devices, as well as manually fanning the sand or suctioning it to scour the seabed, according to a public notice for a federal permit application filed by the company.
Last year, Florida authorities announced they had recovered dozens of gold coins stolen by scrappers from the shipwreck. The suspect was identified as a relative of the team hired by 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC to work at the site.
According to Florida law, any “treasure” or other historical artifact “abandoned” on state lands or waters belongs to the state, although excavators can be authorized to perform “recovery services.” The law requires that approximately 20% of the archaeological materials recovered be retained by the state for research collections or public display.
Guttuso told the Associated Press that his team prepares a detailed inventory of all the objects collected each season for the state to review. Florida authorities select up to 20% of the objects for the public to keep, in a negotiation process that is ultimately approved by a federal court. The remaining objects are divided equally between the owners of the salvage company and its subcontractors, Guttuso explained.
You can also read:
“We want to do it right,” said Guttuso.
“And it benefits the people of Florida. They end up in museums,” he said, referring to the treasures.
Kate Payne is a member of the Report for America Statehouse News Initiative program at Associated Press. Report for America is a national non-profit program that assigns journalists to local newsrooms to cover underreported topics.
