1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels
400 million lying in the sea by a merciless hurricane. A thousand dead men. An episode that ended in tragedy, forgotten by the story. Until now.
In July 1715, 11 ships made the Cuba-spain route when they were hit by a hurricane. They eventually wreck.
It would be just one of the many wrecks of the century, which killed more than 1000 men, were it not for the great treasure that led with it: the vessels were loaded with coins and jewelry valued at about 400 million euros.
But now, 310 years later, explorers claim to have recovered more than 1,000 silver coins from submerged ships. One of 400 million euros were finally recused – literally – from the bottom of the ocean by divers.
“The best way to describe this is how to lose something we like very much, to accept that it will probably never be found and suddenly it appears,” said Levin Shavers, one of the explorers and captain of M/V Just Right, quoted by. “It’s just an amazing feeling.”
Technically, the Treasury belongs to the United States District Court, the American communication body explains. But the value is more than monetary.
“Each coin has a story,” said Shavers. “They are all from different dates. We have already found coins from 1698 to 1714. These coins were used in the New World. What would they buy home return?”
At least five of the ships that sank in 1715 have not yet been foundso there is still much to do before the investigation is completed.
“I will never end this in my life. As soon as we scratched the surface“, Said Mike Pen, another of the explorers and operator of the Mighty mo. “The storm took ten minutes to deposit what will lead us years to find.”
