Shipwreck Yields Estimated $500 Million Haul

by ryan | May 18, 2007 at 07:57 am

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Update: Ownership of the treasure discovered two weeks ago in the Atlantic Ocean is being disputed. According to reports, the Spanish government claims that the treausre was discovered in Spanish waters and is the property of the Spanish government. See the related NowPublic story here.

Deep Sea explorers hit the jackpot!

Deep-sea explorers said Friday they have mined what could be the richest shipwreck treasure in history, bringing home 17 tons of colonial-era silver and gold coins from an undisclosed site in the Atlantic Ocean. Estimated value: $500 million.

A jet chartered by Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration landed in the United States recently with hundreds of plastic containers brimming with coins raised from the ocean floor, Odyssey co-chairman Greg Stemm said. The more than 500,000 pieces are expected to fetch an average of $1,000 each from collectors and investors.