Divers discover centuries-old Spanish treasure worth $1 million off Florida

Hidden beneath the turquoise waters of Florida’s famed “Treasure Coast,” a team of divers has struck gold — quite literally. A shipwreck salvage crew has uncovered more than 1,000 silver and gold coins believed to date back more than 300 years, with an estimated value of around $1 million, the Associated Press reported.

The remarkable discovery was made this summer off Florida’s Atlantic coast by 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC, a company licensed to search the area for remnants of the lost Spanish fleet.

The coins are thought to have been minted in the Spanish colonies of Bolivia, Mexico and Peru. They were part of a vast treasure shipment heading back to Spain when disaster struck in 1715.

On July 31 that year, a powerful hurricane wrecked a fleet of 11 Spanish galleons laden with gold, silver and jewels collected from the New World. The ships went down between present-day Melbourne and Fort Pierce, scattering their riches across the seabed — an area now known as the Treasure Coast.

Over the centuries, salvagers and explorers have recovered millions of dollars’ worth of coins and artefacts from the site. Yet new discoveries like this one continue to surface, fuelling fascination with one of history’s most storied shipwrecks.

Many of the recovered coins still bear visible dates and mint marks — details that historians and collectors say are invaluable.

“This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells,” said Sal Guttuso, operations director for 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC. “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. Finding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary.”

The team used metal detectors, underwater scanning tools and manual sand-fanning techniques to locate and extract the coins from the ocean floor.

Under Florida law, historic artefacts found in state waters belong to the state, though licensed excavators are allowed to conduct recovery operations. About 20% of all recovered items are kept by the state for research or display in public museums.

Guttuso told the Associated Press his team maintains a detailed inventory of every find, which is reviewed by state officials. The rest of the artefacts are divided between the company and its subcontractors after court approval.

“We want to do it right,” Guttuso said. “And it benefits the people of Florida — these treasures end up in museums for everyone to enjoy.”