Expedition Recovers a Treasure Worth Over $1 M From Shipwreck

Photo: 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC

In Florida’s Treasure Coast, a fortune that had been hidden for centuries has finally come to light. Over the summer, the 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC, a shipwreck salvage operation, recovered a treasure worth over $1 million. In addition to the monetary valuation of the precious metals they found, the bounty’s discovery is also rich with information that pieces the puzzle of its history.

The ship in question belongs to the ill-fated 1715 Spanish fleet, which has made historians and treasure hunters wonder and dream for many years. The fleet, which departed Cuba bound for Spain, carried coins and jewels collected in the colonies of Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia. Days into their journey, the fleet was met by a hurricane, with all but one of its ships sinking off the Atlantic coast of Florida. With it, a treasure estimated at $400 million was lost to the sea.

Inspired by this tale, 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC had long been at work to find any remnants of this treasure. The company, which has the exclusive rights to salvage from the shipwreck, says this is their biggest find since 1990. The find itself was carried out by Capt. Levin Shavers and the crew of the Motor Vessel Just Right, with the help of underwater metal-detection devices, as well as hand-fanning the sand on the sea floor.

The bounty includes 1,051 silver coins known as Reales, most of them minted in Mexico City. There are also five gold coins called Escudos, as well as other rare gold artifacts. Despite sitting at the bottom of the ocean for centuries, many of the coins have dates and mint marks, making experts think they may have been part of a single chest or shipment.

“This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells,” Sal Guttuso, director of operations for the 1715 Fleet, said via a press release. “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.”

The coins will now be cleaned and cataloged, a process that includes weighing, photographing, and logging each piece. Per the Florida law, the team will have to hand in about 20% of the recovered treasure to the state, which will be donated to research institutions and museum exhibitions. The rest will then be split among the company and the subcontractors who found them.

“Every find helps piece together the human story of the 1715 fleet,” added Guttuso. “We are committed to preserving and studying these artifacts so future generations can appreciate their historical significance.”

To stay up to date with more of the company’s discoveries, follow The 1715 Fleet on Facebook.