A shipwreck salvage company has uncovered $1 million worth of gold and silver coins off Florida’s Treasure Coast, believed to be from a 1715 Spanish fleet destroyed by a hurricane.
Long-lost Spanish coins worth $1 million have been discovered during an underwater excavation of a shipwreck off Sebastian, Florida, according to The Associated Press.
The find was made by the shipwreck salvage company 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC, which deployed excavators near the state’s “Treasure Coast.” The coins are believed to have come from a Spanish convoy wrecked in a 1715 hurricane while returning to Spain with New World riches.
“The condition of the coins suggests they were part of a single chest or shipment that spilled when the ships broke apart in the hurricane’s fury,” the company said.
Director of operations Sal Guttuso described the find as “rare and extraordinary,” adding, “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.”
The coins will undergo conservation before being put on public display.