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Treasures of the Atocha

On September 6, 1622, a flotilla of 28 Spanish ships left Havana on the last leg of a worldwide trade voyage. They were carrying a cargo of incredible wealth intended to enrich the coffers of Spain. The next day, a hurricane in the Florida Keys destroyed eight of these vessels - among them, the ship that sailed at the rear guard, the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. For centuries, divers of all nationalities have tried to find the wreckage of the Atocha, but it was not until the 1980s that one man finally succeeded in making one of the greatest shipwreck discoveries of all time.

The Hunt for the Atocha
- The Spanish galleon Atocha carried a treasure trove of coins and jewels.
  
  In 1969, shipwreck historian and salvager Mel Fisher began the quest of a lifetime. He was determined to locate the treasure "motherlode" from the Atocha. Over the years, Fisher and his crew pulled up silver bars and other remains of the wreckage, but it wasn't until July 20, 1985, that Fisher and his crew, while diving off the coast of Key West, found what they had been searching for.
The Wealth of the Atocha
- More than 1,000 silver bars were recovered from the Atocha.
  
  Although Fisher and his investors knew that the Atocha carried a cargo of great value, the immensity of the treasure nevertheless proved astonishing, with more than 40 tons of gold and silver on board. This treasure included more than 100,000 silver coins, more than 1,000 silver bars, 125 gold bars, 1,200 pounds of worked silverware, Colombian emeralds, pearls and other jewels.
Atocha coins
- The Atocha has yielded countless pieces of heavy gold and silver jewelry.
  
  Many of the coins salvaged from the Atocha are "eight-reale" coins. Historians today refer to these as "pieces of eight" because minters cut each coin from a silver bar, trimmed it until it weighed approximately one ounce, and then stamped it with a distinctive "eight"-shaped pattern of sectioned quarters on the back. These coins have a Hapsburg Shield impressed on one side and a lion and castle stamped on the four sections of the back. Also salvaged were a large number of lower-denomination reale silver coins as well as gold escudos coins, which are known as "gold doubloons."
More Atocha Treasures
- Reading "Treasure Island" as a boy inspired Fisher to be a salvager.
  
  In addition to coins, the Atocha has yielded other valuables. So far, salvagers have recovered almost 6,000 raw uncut emeralds as well as heavy gold chains, many of which are on exhibit in the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida. To date, the items salvaged by Fisher and his crew are valued at $450 million. Although Fisher passed away in 1998, his team of divers and salvagers continue to pull up valuable artifacts from the Atocha. Their finds are reported regularly, to the excitement of treasure salvagers and historians from around the world.

Coin Collecting