On March 12 this year the
latest piece of sunken treasure from the famous 1622 Spanish galleon, The Nuestra Senora de Atocha, was found 35 miles off Key West. This find, estimated to be valued at a quarter million dollars, is described as a 4-foot-long gold chain with a finely detailed black enameled gold cross. The chain also has a gold religious medallion, black bead, and gold floweret attached to it.
The story of the Atocha is a fascinating bit of Key West history, and it is still unfolding as more treasure is discovered. The story starts with the departure of a fleet of 28 Spanish galleons traveling from Havana back to Spain in 1622. Several of the ships were carrying cargo with values beyond imagination. According to Treasure of the Atocha by R. Duncan Mathewson III, the Atocha alone was carrying 40 tons of silver and gold, and 70 pounds of emeralds. The description of cargo at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum adds that the ship also carried 350 chests of indigo, 525 bales of tobacco, 20 bronze cannons as well as unregistered jewelry and personal goods.
The Atocha with all of her valuable cargo and crew of 265 was hit by a severe hurricane on September 6, 1622, just as she entered the Florida Straits and sank off the coast of Key West. When news of the disaster reached Havana, the Spanish dispatched five ships to salvage the Atocha, but the treasure could not be recovered.
Famous American treasure hunter, Mel Fisher, funded by investors and assisted by a team of sub-contractors, spent 16 and a half years searching off Key West for the sunken treasure of the Atocha. On July 20, 1985, Mel Fisher’s son, Kane, who captained the salvage vessel, Dauntless, sent an ecstatic message to his father that the treasure had been found. The excavation of the “shipwreck of the century” began.
Mel Fisher had hired an archaeologist, Duncan Mathewson, because in his searches for treasures he wanted artifacts to be cataloged, and preserved properly for history. Now the team worked to preserve a treasure load estimated at $450 million. This represents about half of the treasure that went down with the Atocha. Another $450 million of treasure remains to be found off the coast of Key West. In fact, the site of the wreckage is referred to as “the bank of Spain”.
The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, founded by Mel Fisher, is located at 200 Greene Street in Key West. The Maritime Heritage Society is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of preserving maritime culture resources, research, archaeology, and education regarding maritime and colonial activity in the New World.
The story of the Atocha and Mel Fisher’s perseverance in treasure hunting both reflect the adventure and spirit of Key West. The story goes on, and you can be part of it. Give me a call today. Let’s start your treasure hunt for the perfect property! Jimmy Lane: 305-766-0585.