Sunken Treasure Jackpot Claimed by Spain

By Thomas Hall

Published on May 31, 2007

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., of Tampa announced in May that it had found 500,000 gold and silver coins in a ship’s wreckage. The company would not give the precise location of the find, but reported that it was outside any country’s territorial waters. Experts estimate the value of the coins to be around $500 million.

Spanish officials are suspicious of the discovery and have stated that they believe the treasure may have come from a sunken Spanish galleon. The Spanish government has filed claims in a Tampa federal court contending that the treasure belongs to Spain if the vessel was Spanish, or if it was removed from Spanish waters.

According to Odyssey Marine, claims after sunken treasure is found are common in admiralty cases, and the legal action by Spain has no merit. A company representative said that shipwreck salvagers are usually awarded up to 90 percent of whatever is recovered.

In 2000, Spain prevailed in a court case concerning treasure and artifacts recovered from two other ships, the La Galga and the Juno.

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