Divers have recovered more than US$1,000,000 of treasure in the form of gold and silver coins from the remains of the 1715 Treasure Fleet, which sank off the coast of Florida on its way from Cuba to Spain, in July 1715.
More than 1,000 silver coins known as Reales – or, more familiarly, ‘Pieces of Eight’ – were recovered over the summer by a team from Queens Jewels, the salvage company that has exclusive rights to the remains of the historic shipwrecks.
Five gold coins known as Escudos, and several golden artefacts were also recovered during the summer.
The 1715 Treasure Fleet comprised eleven ships from two Spanish treasure fleets, mostly carrying silver from the ‘New World’ back to Spain.
Ten vessels were either sunk or grounded by a hurricane off the coast of Florida on the morning of 31 July 1715. Only one vessel, Urca de Lima, remained afloat, and as she was carrying supplies rather than silver, helped feed the few survivors that managed to survive.
A twelfth ship, a French vessel named Le Grifon, which had sailed ahead of the fleet and remained further out to sea, survived and was able to safely return to Europe.
More than 1,500 of the fleet’s estimated 2,000 sailors died during the storm and its aftermath.
Some historians estimate that the treasure of silver, gold and jewels would originally have been worth as much as $400 million in today’s money.
Much of the treasure was salvaged by Spanish support ships and pirates in the months after the wreckage, but plenty remained buried beneath the sand on the seafloor.
The coins in this haul were minted in the Spanish colonies of Mexico, Peru and Bolivia, and remain in excellent conditions, many still bearing dates and marks of the minters.
Queen Jewels said in a blog announcing the discovery that, given the condition of the coins, it seemed likely they were from a single chest that had broken apart during the storm.
‘This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells,’ said Sal Guttuso, Director of Operations at Queen Jewels.
‘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,’ added Guttuso. ‘We are committed to preserving and studying these artefacts so future generations can appreciate their historical significance.’
The recovered coins will be preserved before being put on public display at local Florida museums.
For more Treasure Fleet discoveries, visit www.1715treasurefleet.com, or follow the Queens Jewels team on Facebook.
