A shipwreck salvage company has struck gold.
1715 Fleet Queens Jewels, LLC-a company that recovers artifacts from a 1715 shipwreck near the Florida coast-announced that its divers found more than 1,000 gold and silver coins. This collection of 18th-century items is estimated to be worth $1 million.
The value of this find goes beyond just the treasure, it’s about the history it reveals,” explained Sal Guttuso, the company’s director of operations, in a press release. “Every coin represents a part of the past, offering a direct connection to the lives of those who lived and worked during the height of the Spanish Empire.”
He continued, “Finding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary.”
The coins-often called pieces of eight-were created in Spanish colonies located in Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia, the company stated. The person recovering the coins explained that many of them still show clear dates and where they were made. They were being shipped back to Spain when a hurricane caused the ship to sink.
According to a press release from 1715 Fleet Queens Jewels, LLC, historians believe the storm caused the loss of up to $400 million in gold, silver, and jewels. This makes it one of the biggest-and most valuable-maritime disasters in the history of the Americas.
The company explained that the state of the coins found implies they originally belonged to one chest or delivery that scattered when the ship was destroyed by the powerful hurricane. They believe the coins spilled out as the ship broke apart in the storm’s fury.
Oh my gosh, you won’t *believe* what Guttuso told NBC News! He said, and I’m practically screaming it, that they totally would have kept everything in wooden boxes. It just *makes sense*, right? Because the wood rots away in the ocean, and then the sack holding the coins would fall apart too… leaving only the silver coins behind! It’s just… amazing to think about!
Besides the coins, the divers also discovered a royal lead seal. This seal featured the imprint of Philip II of Spain, who was the ruler during the mid-to-late 1500s.
Guttuso explained, “You could easily guess this was a treasured family possession.” He continued, “This lead seal likely once protected a significant document – perhaps one that granted the family ownership of land or a specific role.”
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2025-10-02 22:48