FLORIDA, Oct 3: A team of divers exploring the waters off Florida’s “Treasure Coast” has uncovered a cache of Spanish coins and jewelry estimated at $1 million, according to 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC, the salvage company behind the find.
The haul includes more than 1,000 silver and gold coins believed to originate from Spanish colonies in Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru, the company told the Associated Press (AP).
Category 4 Hurricane Irma bearing down on Florida Keys
The discovery comes from the site of a centuries-old shipwreck. On July 31, 1715, a fleet of Spanish vessels carrying gold, silver, and jewels from the New World sank in a hurricane while returning to Spain, scattering treasures along Florida’s Atlantic shoreline, the 1715 Fleet Society told the AP. Over the years, salvagers have recovered millions in coins across a coastal stretch from Melbourne to Fort Pierce, the society added.
Some of the recently recovered coins still show their mint marks and dates, offering historians and collectors insight into the era, the salvage company said. “This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells,” Sal Guttuso, the company’s director of operations, told the AP. He described each coin as a “tangible link” to people of the Spanish Empire, calling the recovery of over 1,000 coins in a single dive both “rare and extraordinary.”
The company uses a fleet of boats, dive crews, and underwater detection equipment to locate artifacts, combining technology with hand-fanning and sand suction, Guttuso said in a federal permit filing reviewed by the AP.
Florida law grants ownership of treasure or historic artifacts on state lands or waters to the state, though permits allow salvage teams to recover them. Around 20% of recovered items are retained for research or display, with the remainder split among the salvage company and subcontractors, Guttuso told the AP.
Last year, authorities seized stolen coins from the site after identifying a family member of the salvage team as the suspect, the AP reported. Guttuso emphasized the company maintains a detailed inventory for state review, saying, “We want to do it right,” and noting the treasures ultimately benefit Florida museums and the public.
