Gold Coins from Sunken 1715 Spanish Galleon Found at Ocean’s Bottom near Florid

[Kai Fonder]

Gold Coins from Sunken 1715 Spanish Galleon Found at Ocean’s Bottom near Florida
Published at 4:51 pm EST, July 15, 2013
Gold Coins from Sunken 1715 Spanish Galleon Found at Ocean’s Bottom near Florida

Photo: Sunken Spanish Ships



A total of 48 gold “escudos” making up part of the treasure from a 17th-century galleon have been recovered on Florida’s east coast, the media reported Monday.

The salvage company 1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels LLC removed the gold coins on the weekend from the ocean bottom and the firm’s owner, Brent Brisben, estimated the combined value of the coins at roughly $250,000.

The find was made along a stretch of Florida’s Atlantic shoreline that is known as the Treasure Coast because 11 galleons of the Spanish Fleet sank there in July 1715 in a hurricane.

Evidently, the gold coins are in good condition. The oldest escudos were minted in 1697, the media reported.

The most surprising about the find is that the coins were recovered just 30 meters (about 100 feet) from shore and at a depth of about 2 meters (6.5 feet).

Brisben said he plans to sell the coins to collectors.

The Spanish Fleet of 1715 set sail from Havana, Cuba, en route to Spain loaded with New World gold for the coffers of the monarchy in Madrid, but 11 of the ships sank in a storm along the Florida coast.


http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/latino-daily-news/details/gold-coins-from-sunken-1715-spanish-galleon-found-at-oceans-bottom-near-flo/25842/