In 2025, Florida salvagers found more than 1,000 gold and silver coins from a 1715 wreck off the Treasure Coast; the salvage company estimated the haul at $1 million

For more than three centuries, the Atlantic waters off Florida have held reminders of a Spanish fleet that met disaster on its journey home. In 2025, divers returned to that underwater landscape and recovered a remarkable cache of more than 1,000 gold and silver coins. The discovery, made during the summer salvage season, was estimated by the salvage company at about $1 million, adding another chapter to one of Florida's most famous shipwreck stories.According to the Associated Press, the artefacts include 1,051 silver reales, five gold escudos, and other gold objects recovered along Florida’s Atlantic coast. The coins have been identified as having been struck in the Spanish colonies of Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru. Many of the coins still bear dates and mint marks. Captain Levin Shavers and his crew aboard the M/V Just Right carried out the recovery for 1715 Fleet – Queen’s Jewels LLC. They are responsible for the exclusive salvage of the wrecks.The hurricane that changed Florida's coastThe coins had lain on the seabed for nearly 310 years since the hurricane struck the Spanish treasure ships, which were travelling from Havana to Spain on July 31, 1715. The ships carried gold and other valuables the Spanish had collected from their colonies in the Americas. According to NOAA, about 2,500 sailors and passengers were aboard the fleet, and around 1,000 died when the hurricane struck. The disaster scattered wreckage and treasure along Florida’s east coast, with the surviving material eventually contributing to the area’s association with treasure hunting and the name “Treasure Coast”.The hunt for that lost treasure is nothing new. Salvage activities have been taking place for decades, with treasure hunters recovering coins and other items from these shipwrecks. Kip Wagner is among those who made their mark as an early salvor, with thousands of silver coins being retrieved by his crew in the 1960s.A cache hidden beneath the sandThe discovery made in 2025 seems to have been very localised in its nature. Many of the coins were found in one place, and the salvagers think they may originally have been stored in a bag or bundle that broke apart when the ship sank. Some of the coins reportedly had marks suggesting they had been inside a burlap bag. The dates found on the coins also give us some idea of the money that may have been carried aboard the ship shortly before its sinking. Reports about the discovery say some of the coins date from the late 17th century to 1714, reflecting the range of currency that could have been in circulation when the 1715 fleet set sail.According to the National Park Service, shipwreck sites can provide valuable archaeological evidence about maritime trade and past societies, making the location and relationship of artefacts important beyond their monetary value. A coin recovered from its original archaeological setting can provide information about its date, mint and movement, while its position alongside other objects can help researchers reconstruct patterns of trade and exchange across the Spanish Empire. It is especially significant in Florida, where the practice of treasure recovery is long intertwined with archaeology. Underwater cultural resources in Florida are regulated, and removing historic artefacts from state-owned waters without proper authorisation is illegal. The 1715 Fleet–Queens Jewels project carries out its operations through authorised salvage agreements.What happens to the recovered coins?However, the salvaged fragments do not just end up being taken out of the ocean and exhibited. The artefacts get catalogued first, and information like the age, mint markings, weight and recovery location of each coin is recorded. Afterwards, the coins undergo conservation, which includes cleaning aimed at removing the salt deposits while preserving the metal structure.Under Florida's system, the state may keep some of the recovered archaeology for study and exhibition. The rest is split up in accordance with the salvage contracts and judicial supervision involved. This suggests that more artefacts may still be buried under the sand. More than 300 years after the fleet sank, changing sea floors, weather, and shifting sands continue to uncover artefacts that were hidden for centuries. For treasure hunters, the discovery is a major find. But for historians and archaeologists, the importance of the find is that the 1,000-plus coins might be able to tell them much about the people who went on the journey in 1715.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.