More than 1,000 silver and gold coins, believed to be valued at more than $USD1 million, have been recovered from an 18th-century shipwreck. The discovery was made by Queens Jewels, a treasure-hunting company, which recovered the stash off the coast of the southeastern region of Florida in July.
The gold and silver are believed to have belonged to a Spanish fleet that disappeared during a hurricane in 1715, when more than $400 million worth of gold, silver, and jewels were lost to the ocean depths and entered history and folklore. Sal Guttuso, director of operations, said it was a remarkable find.
"This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells. 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,” Guttuso said.
"Finding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary. The condition of the coins suggests they were part of a single chest or shipment that spilled when the ship broke apart in the hurricane’s fury.”
In 1715, a hurricane sank 11 of 12 ships in a Spanish convoy, killing more than 1,000 people. The contents of these ships, which were believed to include around four years' worth of shipments, were scattered along approximately 50 miles of the Florida coast.
The coins, also known as pieces of eight, were minted in Spanish colonies of Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia and still show visible dates of creation.
Among the coins is a royal lead seal bearing the impression of Philip II of Spain, who ruled in the mid-to-late 1500s. The recovered coins will undergo conservation before being displayed to the public.
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