Treasure hunters have discovered 350 gold coins worth $4.5 million from the 1715 Spanish fleet shipwreck off Florida's Atlantic coast, marking the most valuable find from the site in recent decades. The discovery was made by diver William Bartlett, boat captain Jonah Martinez, and Dan Beckingham late last month, on the 300th anniversary of the fleet's sinking.
The 1715 Fleet, consisting of 11 treasure-laden ships, was heading from Havana to Spain on 31 July 1715 when a hurricane struck off Florida's central coast, smashing the ships onto reefs and claiming up to 1,000 lives. The latest find comes after a family of treasure hunters recovered $1 million in gold coins from the same area in June.
Brent Brisben, whose salvage company Queens Jewels owns the rights to the wreck site, expressed belief that 'magic' played a role in the discoveries this summer. 'I truly now believe that there is an energy that pervades these shipwrecks,' he said. Brisben's company purchased the salvage rights five years ago from the family of treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who won a lengthy court battle for the rights in the 1980s.
The Spanish government never asserted a claim on the treasure, so it has no rights to it. Florida is entitled to 20% of found artifacts for display in a museum in Tallahassee, with the remainder split between Brisben's company and the finders after a federal judge approves. Any treasure found washed ashore is considered 'finders, keepers.'
An estimated $400 million in coins remains undiscovered in the coastal area known as Florida's Treasure Coast, stretching from Melbourne to Fort Pierce. Martinez and his team expect further discoveries, noting that the odds of finding nothing are high but the reward is worth the risk.
