Scuba diver finds a unique gold coin from a 1600s shipwreck that is worth an absolute fortune

A scuba diver found a rare gold coin from the "world's most valuable shipwreck" while treasure hunting in the ocean. Zach Moore, an engineer at Mel Fisher's Treasures, found the coin off the Florida Keys where the ill-fated Nuestra Senora de Atocha, sank about 400 years ago. The salvage company shared that it was the first gold coin found in the last 20 years, and it is only the 121st coin found from the wreck. Given the incredible find, the company estimated its value to be worth a whopping $98,000, as per a company blog post.

Gold from the world's most valuable shipwreck

Back in 1622, the Nuestra Senora de Atocha was sailing from the New World to Spain when it was hit by a hurricane and tragically sank with 260 people onboard. Only five of the crew survived. The galleon was loaded with several precious items. It contained about 40 tons of gold and silver and around 70 pounds of Colombian emeralds, some of the finest and most expensive in history, as per Maritime Executive.

Spanish salvors tried to recover the precious cargo but failed as the hatches were locked tight. Furthermore, a second hurricane destroyed the shipwreck and it was nearly lost forever. In 1969, Mel Fisher started looking for the treasure of Atocha in the deep sea. 

After a few successful finds, he established a crew that went on to find several silver bars and give off the ship's cannons that matched all the paperwork. As they discovered more precious items, in 2014, the Nuestra Senora de Atocha was declared the world's most valuable shipwreck by the Guinness Book of World Records. 

The most recent discoverer, Zach Moore, Mel Fisher’s Treasures is the son of Bill Moore, who was one of the original discoverers of the shipwreck more than three decades ago. On his hunt in July 2021, Moore discovered the gold coin 30 feet deep in the water. 

“There’s nothing like finding treasure first of all, but there’s nothing like finding gold,” Moore told the Miami Herald. He added that the coin he found looks and feels exactly the same as the day the ship went down, 400 years ago.

“It’s quite an incredible find,” said Kim Fisher, the president and CEO of Mel Fisher’s Treasures. The coin adds to the tally of 120 coins that the company has retrieved and it is the only one found in the past two decades. The newest coin was put on Mel Fisher’s Treasures store till May 2022 after its discovery. 

History of Incredible Finds

After a 16-year-long search, Mel Fisher crew struck gold and silver, emeralds, and more for the first time on July 20, 1985. Known as “the golden crew,” the company's divers have millions of dollars worth of sunken treasure held by the Atocha.

As per the Daily Mail, in 2011, divers from Mel Fisher's Treasures recovered a gold ring that housed an emerald stone worth $500,000.  Further in 2015, they found 40 valuable items including a money chain, gold bars, and an emerald-encrusted cross. Most of these items were put up for auction on the 30th anniversary of the company, and collectively fetched over $2 million, according to The Guardian.