Florida treasure hunters have managed to find a trove of gold Spanish coins worth 4.5 million dollars; a total of 350 rare coins were discovered 300 years after a fleet of ships sank in a hurricane en route from Cuba to Spain.
They hit the jackpot! #Florida divers find over 300 coins worth $4.5M http://t.co/N8dvO0anF4 pic.twitter.com/xggFvTGKlG
— 13News Now (@13NewsNow) 19 августа 2015
The trove contained 12 meters (40 feet) of ornate gold chain and 51 gold coins, among them nine pieces, known as royal escudos, which were made for then-King Felipe V.
These coins are the most important pieces in the find because they are so rare, according to Brent Brisben, whose company, 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels, owns the rights to the wreckage.
He said that only 20 such coins were known to exist prior to the recovery of the nine royals, which are worth about 300,000 dollars each.
William Bartlett, the diver who tracked down the trove, said that "the gold looks like it fell into the water yesterday."
A three-man crew aboard Brisben’s boat, the S/V Capitana, discovered the treasure in shallow waters off Vero Beach, Florida on July 30.
But their find was kept thoroughly secret until August 19 so as to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the sinking of a fleet of 11 treasure-laden Spanish galleons in a hurricane off Florida, which occurred in late July of 1715.
According to Bartlett, a boat propeller was used to blow a hole in the sandy ocean floor to reach bedrock 8 feet (2.4 meters) down. It took the crew five days to lift the haul, Bartlett said.
