'Ship of Gold': Search For Merchant Royal's 'Billion Dollar' Treasure Continues Even After 380 Years
Shipwrecks fascinate treasure hunters, because of the history and valuables they carry within themselves. Some ships are always on the explorers' list because of the sheer amount of treasure they held at the time of sinking. One such ship loaded with wealth was 'Merchant Royal', also known as 'Ship of Gold', HISTORY reported.
The English galleon sank on September 23, 1641, off the coast of Cornwall. 'Merchant Royal' was reportedly laden with gold and silver. Many believe the ship carried billions of dollars worth of treasure, but certain experts beg to differ from this assertion.
The ship's captain, John Limbrey, got into a lucrative deal with the Spanish authorities, to transport silver and gold to the port city of Antwerp as payment to the 30,000-strong Habsburg garrison there.
The 700-ton ship was returning to England after conducting a successful trading mission, HISTORY reported. Limbrey called to Cadiz in Spain for a long pitstop. The ship had a lot of leaks and the captain hoped that repairs at Cadiz would make it good enough for a voyage to England.
While on her way back to Flanders from Cadiz, the galleon faced turbulence off the Cornish coast, HISTORY reported. The researchers believe that Limbrey was commandeering the ship to Dartmouth for vital repairs. Another ship that was passing by rescued eighteen crewmembers including the captain.
The ship sank with its treasures, and the speculated valuables in the galleon have led people to give it monikers like 'Ship of Gold' and the 'El Dorado of the Seas', Discovery reported.
Over the years, many myths have been attached to this ship. Many experts believe that the 'mythical' nature of the ship has caused individuals to overestimate the treasures it carried.
The Spanish loot within the ship included silver bars, gold bullion, and Spanish dollars, Discovery reported. The value has been estimated to be as high as £20 billion ($26 billion today) by certain experts and as low as £250 million ($327 million today) by others. As per a contemporary pamphlet, the ship sank with '300000 in ready boliogne' (bullion) and '100,000 pounds in gold and as much value in jewels.'
If the 100,000 pounds is in terms of weight, then according to the late 2022 price of gold, which is around £1,500 per ounce, the worth of the gold would be in the region of £2.4 billion ($3.14 billion today), Discovery reported. The 'ready boliogne’ (bullion) would come around at the value of £5 billion. If 100,000 is the monetary value, then the gold would be around £35 million in 2022.
The State Papers of King Charles I shares the loss of Merchant Royal, "I suppose you have understood of the loss of the Royal Merchant coming into our road, which is the greatest that was ever sustained in one ship, being worth 400,000l. at least. The merchants of Antwerp will be the greatest losers, for she had in her belonging to them 300,000l. in bullion; if so be the Infante Cardinal lose not upon it Flanders for want of money to pay the soldiers."
In the pamphlet, the figure of £400,000 has been attached to the treasures inside the 'Merchant Royal', HISTORY reported. This implies that the present-day value of the trove is a little leaner than a billion pounds.
The ship also contained the valuables of each passenger and crew member on board. The personal haul of goods, possessions, or money would bring the value of treasures to £150-300m. The 'Merchant Royal' is yet to be found.