In a historical underwater discovery, divers off Florida’s famed Treasure Coast have recovered a pile of gold and silver coins valued at nearly ₹8.87 crore (USD 1.06 million) from an 18th-century Spanish shipwreck. The find, announced this week, has generated excitement among historians, treasure hunters, and maritime enthusiasts. A viral video of one of the divers pouring loads of coins is going viral on the Internet.
The recovery was made from the remains of the 1715 Treasure Fleet, a convoy of Spanish galleons that sank during a devastating hurricane on July 31, 1715, while transporting riches from the New World back to Spain. Over 1,000 silver coins, along with rare gold coins, were brought to the surface during the dive. Some of these coins, known as Reales (silver) and Escudos (gold), are more than 300 years old and still bear visible mint marks and dates.
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The Treasure Coast, stretching along Florida’s eastern shoreline, earned its name because of the countless valuables that have washed ashore or been recovered from the fleet wreckage over the centuries. While many artifacts have been found since the early 1960s, this latest discovery underscores the area’s enduring reputation as a hotspot for underwater treasures.
Under U.S. law, such findings are typically shared between the salvage company and the state of Florida, with significant items preserved for museums. For now, the coins are undergoing conservation before being catalogued.
The extraordinary haul highlights both the perils of 18th-century sea voyages and the modern fascination with lost treasure, turning yet another page in the long saga of the 1715 Treasure Fleet.
