Rare Gold Coins Found from Ancient Spanish Shipwreck
Rare gold coins from an ancient Spanish shipwreck, were found by a Florida couple this last month of June 2015
The fortune in gold coins is believed to be worth approximately 900,000 euros
Needless to say the family business is that of underwater treasure hunting, but still the discovery comes as a huge surprise!
The gold was recovered from an eighteenth century Spanish galleon which sunk off the coast of the state of Florida.
The Schmitt family’s 27-year-old son Eric was who found the treasure in the waters off of Fort Pierce, a city with a population of 42,000 and located about 210 kilometers north of Miami.
The galleon was apparently a part of a fleet of eleven ships that left Havana Cuba in 1715 but sunk off the coast of Florida during a massive hurricane.
This information was provided by Brent Brisben, who owns a shipwreck salvage company called 1715 Fleet Queens Jewels which also helped to recover the coins.
The treasure consists of 51 gold coins dating from the period; 40 feet of ornate gold chain, and one rare gold coin called a “royal”. This coin was minted to honor King Felipe V of Spain.
Brisben stated that the extremely rare gold “royal” is worth over one half a million dollars all by itself, as there are so very few of these coins in existence.
Brisben said that the treasure may of come from the flagship of the Capitana which was captained by General Juan Esteban de Ubilla. The ship was carrying more than 3.5 million pesos in treasure by 18th century standards of worth when the ship sank, with the rest of the fleet en route to Spain in 1715
Under United States and Florida state laws, Florida is entitled to 20% of the fortune, which will be placed in a museum. The rest of the treasure will be split between the Schmitt family and the company 1715 Queens Jewels.
At this time it is not clear whether the Spanish government would file a claim for the treasure.
