Treasure Hunters Find Hundreds of Silver Coins and Artifacts From '1715 Treasure Fleet'. 'You Never Expect It'.
During the exploration of the New World, many European countries sent their ships to uncharted waters to bring back as much valuables as possible. In the 18th century, Spain sent fleets of galleons to the Americas to bring treasures from the New World, CBS News reported.
During its return, storms took over this fleet and these treasures were buried deep in the sea for centuries. In recent years several individuals have got their hands on this elusive treasure. The Spanish fleet is collectively known as the '1715 Treasure Fleet.'
In July 1715, a violent storm off the coast of Florida ravished 11 ships from this fleet in its sail back to Spain, the National Park Service reported. The ships were laden with silver, gold, gemstones, tobacco, exotic spices, and indigo.
Spanish authorities managed to recover some treasure from these ships, but most of the valuables remained lost in the water. It took almost 200 years for modern treasure hunters and authorities to find the wreckage.
In 2024, a group of treasure hunters claimed that they had found over 200 silver coins from the wreckage, CBS News reported.
"It was kind of numbing in a way, you know," boat captain Grant Gitschlag, one of the treasure hunters shared, WOFL-TV reported. "You don't expect that. You always hope for it, but you never expect it."
The group was aboard a boat named "Lilly May," when they made this discovery, CBS News reported. The group retrieved 214 coins and some artifacts from the wreckage. The finding is astounding because the wreckage has been surveyed many times since authorities have made it open to the public.
"I wasn't expecting it at all, which is how the greatest finds come about," fellow treasure hunter, Corinne Lea shared, WOFL-TV reported.
1715 Fleet Queens Jewels, a company that owns exclusive salvage rights to the 1715 Treasure Fleet posted a message regarding the discovery on social media, CBS News reported. The post features two photos, in one of them all the treasure hunters are holding the recovered coins and in the other, the artifacts found from the wreck are shown.
This is not the first time treasures have been found from the wreckage. In 2015, the salvage operation announced that it had found 350 gold coins from the sunken ships. The same year, the Schmitt Family, a subcontractor of 1715 Fleet Queens Jewels, also claimed that they had in their possession $1 million worth of artifacts from the fleet.