TORONTO – A group of treasure hunters happening upon a trove of ancient loot, lost beneath the ocean waves.
It’s the stuff of pulp fiction cliché – but camera footage shot on July 30 showed a team of scuba divers from Queens Jewels, LLC, a Florida-based treasure hunting and salvaging group, making the real-life find: over 350 gold coins, each of them dating back over three centuries.
The loot was found as part of the group’s exploration of the famous “Treasure Fleet,” which set sail in 1715 from Havana, Cuba towards Spain when it ran into a hurricane near what is now present-day Florida.
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For centuries, the lost fleet captivated the minds of salvagers, treasure hunters, and privateers hungry for gold. The booty contained on the 12-vessel fleet was so immense that according to urban legend, gold and silver washed up on Florida beaches in the days after the famous wreck.
Foremost among the team’s find were nine special coins known as the “Royals,” specially designed for Spanish King Phillip V.
According to Queens Jewels, each “Royal” is worth around $300,000 U.S., and their find of nine represents 30 per cent of all such coins that are known to exist.
The team purchased the salvaging rights to the “Treasure Fleet” in 2010 from the heirs of famous treasure hunter Mel Fisher.
Incredibly enough, this most recent find was made in shallow waters just off the coast of Vero Beach, Florida.
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