2016-06-29 Wed

Almost 2,100 gold coins, most of which were issued by Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were found at a 1533 Portuguese shipwreck named Bom Jesus, off the coast of Namibia. The shipwreck also contained a large number of silver and base metal coins. The wreck was discovered in 2008, by diamond miners with a joint company operated by DeBeers International and the Namibian government. The important finds of the oldest shipwreck discovered off sub-Saharan Africa were revealed earlier this month.

The ship belonged to Portugal’s King Joao III and was headed to India. The coins were issued from 1476 to 1516 and are of the denomination 1-, 2- and 4-excelente. The 1-excelente coin contains .1109 ounce of gold. The value of these coins was more than the value of its gold content - at $850 an ounce.

Some of them were Portuguese coins by King Joao III, while the rest were Venetian and Hungarian gold coins.

Though the treasure officially belongs to Portugal, they have allowed the Namibian government to retain it.