2016-03-15 Tue

Nearly $1 million worth of gold coins and an extremely rare Spanish coin were recently discovered just 1,000 feet offshore of Fort Pierce, Florida. That’s the reason why this hoard is also known as a "Tricentennial Royal". The treasures were hidden on the seafloor for 300 years before the crew of a salvage vessel Aarrr Booty brought them to the surface.

In 1715, Spain was waging a war against France and was falling short of funds. Twelve ships were on a mission to transport the riches from Cuba (which was back then, a Spanish colony) to Spain. A hurricane off Florida sunk 11 out of 12 ships on July 30, 1715! "1715 Fleet" has been a treasure-hunter's fantasy ever since. In 2010, Brent Brisben and his father, William, obtained permits to explore the wrecks.

Many other coins were discovered recently from this site but the real treasure was the rare Tricentennial Royal, one of very few gold coins minted for King Philip V of Spain, according Schmitt, lead diver of the Aarrr Booty vessel's treasure-hunting expeditions.

The coin is "very round" compared to most coins and was die-cast as per experts. They also believe that most Colonial coins from this period were made using cruder methods that resulted in less uniform shapes. The round royal coin, which is about the size of a silver dollar, is worth an estimated $500,000. $440 million worth of coins and other treasures have yet to be recovered from these centuries-old wrecks.