Salvage Team Uncovers Over 1,000 Silver Coins,โ Gold Artifacts from 1715 Spanish Fleet Wreck
VEROโข BEACH, FL – A โฃsalvageโ company โexploringโ the wreckage of a 1715 Spanish fleet off theโฃ coast of Florida has recoveredโค more than 1,000 silver coinsโฃ and five gold Escudos, along with other rare goldโ artifacts. โคThe coins, used as currency in Spanish โขcolonies in America, were discovered during a dive to the shipwreck site.
“Every coin is part of history, a realโ bondโข with people who live, work,โ and sail during the โฃgolden age of the Spanish Empire,” said Sal Guttuso, Operational Director of 1715โฃ Fleet-Queens Jewels, in a statement.โ “Finding 1,000 coins in one discoveryโค is a rare โand remarkable thing.”
the โcoins are believed toโฃ have originated in theโค Spanish colonies of Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia, withโ some bearing clear mint marks โand dates. โTheir well-preserved condition โขsuggests they โฃwere part of a collection that quickly became buried โwhenโข a ship sank during a storm.
Theโ 1715 Fleet, also known โas the plate fleet, consisted of 12 ships departing Cuba on July 24, โ1715, bound for Spain. A powerful storm off the Florida coast caused eleven ships to sink, scattering debris across an 80-kilometer area.While some treasure was recoveredโ promptly after the disaster, โthe โmajority remained lost for centuries.
“Every finding helps unite the story โขof theโค 1715 fleet,” Guttuso stated. The recoveredโฃ coinsโ will be preserved and displayed at โlocal museums.
Previous โexplorations of the wreck have yielded important finds, including a rare Spanish coin called the ‘Tricentennial โขRoyal’ โin 2015, along with gold coins and chains valued at nearly USD โค$1 million.
In a separate incident, a salvage team led by Eric schmitt from Booty Salvage was found to have withheld 50 coins discovered in the wreck,โ but most were recovered in 2024โฃ through a joint effort by local authorities โฃand the FBI.
Rumors persist of further treasures remaining at the site, including jewelry belonging to Philip V’s second wife, suchโค as a 74-carat emerald ring โคand 14-carat pearl earrings.
Florida law prohibits the removal ofโฃ artifacts fromโฃ the wreck without a โpermit,and 1715 Fleet-Queensโ Jewelsโฃ holds exclusive diving rights to the โคsite.
