Salvagers recover $1M in 1715 Fleet coins
Salvagers recovered 1,051 gold and silver Spanish reales—worth more than $1 million—from a 1715 Fleet shipwreck off Florida’s Treasure Coast, the largest haul from the site since 1990. The coins were identified as reales minted across Spanish America, mostly in Mexico City, and video showed a diver gathering dozens of pieces near traces of a burlap sack. The coins will be weighed, photographed, logged and conserved (including electrolysis), with Florida able to request up to 20% for museum display and the remainder split between the salvage company and the subcontractors who found them.
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🔍 Key Facts
- Salvagers recovered 1,051 coins worth more than $1 million from the 1715 Fleet site off Florida’s Treasure Coast — the company’s largest haul from the site since 1990.
- The coins were identified as Spanish reales struck in colonial mints in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia, with the majority minted in Mexico City.
- Video and eyewitness accounts show a diver gathering dozens of coins (even using a removed glove), and investigators found traces of a burlap sack, consistent with coins spilling from a chest; historically Spanish coins were packed in sacks of about 1,000 and chests typically held 3,000–4,000 coins.
- Recovered coins will be cataloged (weighed, photographed and logged) and undergo conservation including electrolysis to remove corrosion.
- The recovered coins are to be divided between the salvage company and the subcontractors who found them, while the State of Florida may request up to 20% of the haul for museum exhibition.
📰 Sources (3)
Over $1 Million Bounty Is Found Off Florida Treasure Coast
New information:
- Precise recovered count reported: 1,051 coins (the company’s biggest haul from the site since 1990)
- Detailed provenance: coins identified as reales minted in Spanish colonies (Mexico, Peru, Bolivia), with most minted in Mexico City
- Operational and conservation details: coins will undergo electrolysis and conservation; cataloging process (weighing, photographing, logging) and State of Florida may request up to 20% for museum exhibitions
- Distribution plan: remaining coins to be split between the salvage company and subcontractors who discovered them
- Anecdotal/field detail: video and eyewitness detail of diver using a removed glove to accumulate dozens of coins and traces of a burlap sack suggesting coins spilled from a chest; context that Spanish coins were packed in sacks of 1,000 and chests held 3,000–4,000 coins