Spain Identifies Source of Half-Billion Dollar Sunken Treasure Recovered by US Firm

By Aaron Poehler

Published on May 13, 2008

The 500,000 coins recovered in international waters by Odyssey have been in contention ever since the company announced the haul it codenamed "Black Swan" in May 2007. Odyssey refused to release information relating to the exact location of the shipwreck until ordered by a U.S. judge last month to share information about the find with Spanish investigators.

Last week, Spanish archaeologists announced that gold doubloons among the "Black Swan" treasure were documented as having been aboard the Spanish colonial-era galleon Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes when it was sunk in 1804 off the southern coast of Portugal.

Odyssey had previously claimed that the Spanish government had abandoned the wreck, clearing the way for the company to take possession under international maritime law. However, Spanish officials now say that because the coins were not being transported aboard a commercial vessel, they remain the property of the Spanish Armada. In court papers demanding the treasure's return, Spanish officials also identified the sinking of the Mercedes as a pivotal point in Spanish history and the coins as part of Spanish historical heritage.

Odyssey spokesmen responded that they do not believe sufficient evidence exists to link the "Black Swan" site to the Mercedes.