The Nation : Silver Coins Found in Wrecked Galleon

A Spanish galleon that sank in a 1715 hurricane off the Florida coast has yielded 900 silver coins, two gold rings and other artifacts, Bleth McHaley, spokeswoman for treasure hunter Mel Fisher, said. McHaley said she had no idea of how much the treasure is worth, adding “but the coins average $400 to $500 apiece and the ring multi, multithousands.” At $400 each, the 900 coins would be worth more than $360,000. “We know that there’s more there,” she said. The find was made by Roy Volker, a subcontractor working with Fisher, a few hundred yards off Sebastian Inlet on Florida’s central Atlantic coast. Ken Rouse, general counsel for the Florida secretary of state’s office, said the final division of the treasure between the state and the finder would be negotiated later. The state has the right to claim relics of major historic value that are found underwater close to the coast, he said. The treasure came from the Nuestra Senora de la Regla, the flagship of an eight-galleon fleet that left Veracruz, in what is now Mexico, for Spain in July, 1715. A hurricane sank the fleet along a route stretching from Florida to Spain.