{"id":3902,"date":"2025-10-15T03:13:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T03:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/3902\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T03:13:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T03:13:14","slug":"million-dollar-coins-rare-and-extraordinary-are-discovered-in-florida-shipwreck-excavation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/3902\/","title":{"rendered":"Million-dollar coins, &#8216;rare and extraordinary,&#8217; are discovered in Florida shipwreck excavation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Long-lost\u00a0Spanish coins worth $1 million were\u00a0discovered recently during an underwater excavation of a\u00a0shipwreck.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">The shipwreck salvage company 1715 Fleet \u2013 Queens Jewels LLC deployed excavators near Sebastian, Florida, on the Sunshine State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/science\/archaeology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">so-called &#8220;Treasure Coast<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A convoy of Spanish ships was carrying a variety of jewels taken from the New World and was sailing back to Spain.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/travel\/divers-discover-vintage-car-ship-wreck-from-world-war-ii\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">DIVERS DISCOVER VINTAGE CAR IN WWII SHIPWRECK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>On July 21, 1715, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/weather\/hurricanes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">hurricane struck<\/a> \u2014 wrecking the ships and releasing their treasures into the sea, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s believed that the coins of gold and silver were minted hundreds of years ago in Bolivia, Mexico and Peru, the same source noted.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fl-1715-treasure-fleet-discovery-archaeology-coins-history-1.jpg\" alt=\"Silver found next to diver smiling\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Gold and silver coins worth roughly $1 million were recently recovered from a historic 1715 Spanish shipwreck off Florida&#8217;s Treasure Coast. (1715 Fleet &#8211; Queens Jewels, LLC)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The condition of the coins suggests they were part of a single chest or shipment that spilled when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the ships<\/a> broke apart in the hurricane\u2019s fury,&#8221; the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The salvage company\u2019s director of operations, Sal Guttuso, told Fox News Digital that the most surprising aspect of the discovery was its size.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The last time this number of large silver coins were found was during the 1990 season,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fl-1715-treasure-fleet-discovery-archaeology-coins-history-3.jpg\" alt=\"Split image of treasure, gold\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Due to the size and great\u00a0condition of the coins in this discovery, we will be able to learn a\u00a0great deal regarding\u00a0where and when they were minted,&#8221; said the salvage company&#8217;s director of operations. (1715 Fleet &#8211; Queens Jewels, LLC)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Due to the size and great\u00a0condition of the coins in this discovery, we will be able to learn a\u00a0great deal regarding\u00a0where and when they were minted,&#8221; Guttuso added. &#8220;This will provide us with a time capsule of Spanish colonial numismatics from the New World.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Guttuso also said the discovery is &#8220;a tangible way to learn about our history.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote-text\">The recovery is &#8220;both rare and extraordinary.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Each coin is a piece <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/science\/archaeology\/history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">of history<\/a>, a tangible link to the people who lived, worked and sailed during the Golden Age of the Spanish Empire,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters?cmpid=fnfirstnl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[F]inding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Treasure Coast is a stretch of land in the southeast region of Florida consisting of St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fl-1715-treasure-fleet-discovery-archaeology-coins-history-2.jpg\" alt=\"Splti image of treasure box next to silver coins\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>The recovered coins are undergoing conservation before being placed on public display for future study. (1715 Fleet &#8211; Queens Jewels, LLC)<\/p>\n<p>The area was given the name after shipwrecks full of treasure, beginning in the 1600s, occurred due to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/us-regions\/southeast\/florida\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">reefs and isolated location<\/a>, according to multiple sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The coins will undergo conservation\u00a0before they&#8217;re put on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/travel\/general\/museums-exhibits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">public display<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Florida\u2019s Rule 1A-31.090 states that when artifacts are recovered under a state permit, the Division of Historical Resources keeps up to 20% of the recovered artifacts for research or public viewing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fl-1715-treasure-fleet-discovery-archaeology-coins-history-4.jpg\" alt=\"Three-way split image of divers holding coins and smiling\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Crews continue to explore the 1715 shipwreck site where treasure-laden Spanish galleons sank in hurricane-force winds. (1715 Fleet &#8211; Queens Jewels, LLC)<\/p>\n<p>The remaining 80% may be shared with the salvagers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/lifestyle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com\/lifestyle<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Every find helps piece together the human story of the 1715 fleet,&#8221; said Guttuso.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vero2.jpg\" alt=\"Vero Beach, FL, aerial view\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>The Treasure Coast is a stretch of land in southeast Florida consisting of St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties. (Jeffrey Greenberg\/UCG\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>He added, &#8220;We are committed to preserving and studying these artifacts, so future generations can appreciate their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/science\/archaeology\/history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">historical significance<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/apps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Associated Press and Fox Weather\u2019s Hayley Vawter contributed reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ashley J. DiMella is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Long-lost\u00a0Spanish coins worth $1 million were\u00a0discovered recently during an underwater&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4372,1269,28,30,29,2457,555,4373,107],"class_list":["post-3902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-archaeology","tag-boating","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-history","tag-lifestyle","tag-odd-news","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}