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Long-lost Spanish coins worth $1 million were discovered recently during an underwater excavation of a shipwreck, according to The Associated Press.
The shipwreck salvage company 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC deployed excavators near Sebastian, Florida, on the Sunshine State’s so-called “Treasure Coast.”
A convoy of Spanish ships was carrying a variety of jewels taken from the New World and was sailing back to Spain.
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On July 21, 1715, a hurricane struck — wrecking the ships and releasing their treasures into the sea, according to AP.
It’s believed that the coins of gold and silver were minted hundreds of years ago in Bolivia, Mexico and Peru, the same source noted.
“The condition of the coins suggests they were part of a single chest or shipment that spilled when the ships broke apart in the hurricane’s fury,” the company said in a statement.
The salvage company’s director of operations, Sal Guttuso, said the discovery “is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells.”
The “recovery is both rare and extraordinary.”
Guttuso added, “Each coin is a piece of history, a tangible link to the people who lived, worked and sailed during the Golden Age of the Spanish Empire.”
He said that “finding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary.”
The Treasure Coast is a stretch of land in the southeast region of Florida consisting of St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties.
The area was given the name after shipwrecks full of treasure, beginning in the 1600s, occurred due to the reefs and isolated location, according to multiple sources.
The coins will undergo conservation before they’re put on public display.
Florida’s Rule 1A-31.090 states that when artifacts are recovered under a state permit, the Division of Historical Resources keeps up to 20% of the recovered artifacts for research or public viewing.
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The remaining 80% may be shared with the salvagers.
“Every find helps piece together the human story of the 1715 fleet,” said Guttuso.
He added, “We are committed to preserving and studying these artifacts, so future generations can appreciate their historical significance.”
The Associated Press and Fox Weather’s Hayley Vawter contributed reporting.
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