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Over 1000 silver and gold coins were recovered by divers from the remains of the Spanish 1715 Treasure Fleet shipwrecks this summer. The coins are just a small portion of the more than $400 million worth of gold and silver that vanished when a hurricane hit the east coast of Florida in 1715, killing around 1,500 sailors who were onboard two Spanish treasure fleets.
After departing from Havana, Cuba in 1715, all 11 ships in the 1715 Treasure Fleet were sunk while attempting to return from the “New World” to Spain, taking their massive bounty to the bottom of the ocean with them.
Treasure salvage company 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC reported in a new press release that over 1,000 silver coins known as Reales, five gold coins called Escudos, and other rare gold artifacts were recovered by Capt. Levin Shavers and the crew of the M/V Just Right this summer.
“This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells,” said Sal Guttuso, Director of Operations. “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 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary.”
“Every find helps piece together the human story of the 1715 fleet,” Guttuso added. “We are committed to preserving and studying these artifacts so future generations can appreciate their historical significance.”
The coins, known as pieces of eight, were minted in the Spanish colonies of Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia. Many still bear visible dates and mint marks, making them important to historians and collectors alike. 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.
The company says the coins will now undergo careful conservation and then select pieces will be exhibited at local museums.
Last year, 37 gold coins stolen from the 1715 Treasure Fleet shipwrecks, valued collectively at over $1 million, were recovered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with assistance from the FBI after they went missing. It turned out that a member of the family that had been contracted by 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC to conduct salvage work had stolen 50 out of 101 gold coins that they had been found off Florida’s Treasure Coast.