Long-lost treasure worth $1 million discovered in the US

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Divers have found more than 1,000 silver and gold coins from a Spanish ship that sank off Florida’s Treasure Coast in 1715. The coins are worth approximately $1 million.

The treasure recovered by 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC included silver and gold coins—reales and escudos—many of which still show where they were originally minted.

On July 31, 1715, a fleet of ships carrying valuable goods from the Americas to Spain was lost at sea during a hurricane.

What happens next?

According to a post on the Queen Jewels LCC blog, the recovered coins will be carefully cleaned and preserved before being shown to the public at museums and other locations.

As a shipwreck and treasure enthusiast, I’ve learned that anything found underwater in Florida technically belongs to the state. However, there’s a system in place where people with the right permits – licensed salvagers – can actually recover these artifacts, and they get to keep a portion of what they find as a reward for their work.

According to Sal Guttuso, director of operations at Queen Jewels LCC, each coin represents a piece of history and connects us to the lives of people during the height of the Spanish Empire. He stated that discovering a thousand coins in one find is incredibly unusual and remarkable.

Discoveries like this are very unusual, but not impossible. In the past, a pirate ship that sank in 1721 with over $100 million in treasure was found near Madagascar, more than 300 years after it was lost.

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2025-10-06 14:49