More than 300 years after one of the worst maritime disasters in the Americas, divers have recovered gold and silver coins valued at more than $1 million from the wreck of the famed 1715 Treasure Fleet off Florida’s east coast.
The recovery includes 1,051 silver reales, widely known as “pieces of eight,” and five rare gold escudos. Many of the coins still show mint marks and dates, offering historians insight into Spanish colonial mints in Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia.
Discovery during the 2025 salvage season
The find was made during the 2025 summer salvage season by Captain Levin Shavers and his crew aboard the M/V Just Right. They operate under 1715 Fleet–Queens Jewels, LLC, the company with exclusive salvaging rights to the shipwrecks.
Salvage crew uncovers $1M treasure from a 1715 Spanish shipwreck lost in a hurricane, coins untouched for 310 years.
The coins were discovered by Capt. Levin Shavers and his crew off Florida’s Treasure Coast. pic.twitter.com/IhzdVwg0rs
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) October 2, 2025
According to the company, the condition of the coins suggests they may have spilled from a single chest when the vessel broke apart. Such concentrated recoveries are rare, since centuries of storms and currents usually scatter artifacts across the seabed.
A disaster that shaped history
The 1715 fleet, also known as the “Plate Fleet,” set sail from Havana on July 24, 1715, bound for Spain. The 12 ships carried vast riches from the New World—silver bars, gold coins, and royal jewels. Less than a week later, a hurricane struck Florida’s coast with full force, sinking 11 ships across a 50-mile stretch of ocean.
Historians estimate the storm claimed treasure worth about $400 million and as many as 1,000 lives. Survivors struggled to shore near present-day Vero Beach, where some tried to salvage what they could. Centuries later, the area became known as Florida’s “Treasure Coast.”
Largest find in decades
The recent haul is one of the largest coin recoveries in decades. Shavers and his crew located the cache near Ambersand Beach in Indian River County. On their 12th day of work, they uncovered more than 1,000 coins, some still fused with burlap fibers.
🚨🇺🇸 $1M TREASURE HAUL FOUND OFF FLORIDA’S “TREASURE COAST”
A salvage crew uncovered more than 1,000 gold and silver coins worth an estimated $1 million from a 300-year-old Spanish shipwreck off Florida’s Treasure Coast.
The fleet sank in a 1715 hurricane while carrying riches… pic.twitter.com/X6EtieCkAt
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 2, 2025
“In the past, there’s evidence of them finding a chest which contained three burlap sacks and each sack had about 1,000 coins,” Shavers said. “We could potentially be looking at a chest of coins.”
Michael Perna, a veteran salvor with the vessel Mighty Mo, called the recovery extraordinary. “The last find of large coins like this was in 1990,” he said.
What happens to the treasure
Under U.S. admiralty law, Queens Jewels controls salvaging rights to the fleet’s wrecks. Florida law requires permits for underwater exploration, and the state claims 20 percent of all recovered treasure. The rest is divided among salvors after conservation and cataloging.
The company said the coins will undergo careful preservation before being displayed in museums. “Each coin is a piece of history,” said Sal Guttuso, director of operations for Queens Jewels. “Finding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary.”
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
