Ben Costello

Ben Costello is a director of the 1715 Fleet Society and an attorney in Washington, PA. His full bio can be found here.

Library of Fleet Historian Ernie Richards acquired by Society

The 1715 Fleet Society continues to make a history of its own. On Saturday, May 20, 2023, Society President, Ben Costello, announced the Society’s acquisition of the complete 770-volume library of Ernie “Seascribe” Richards. Ernie, who was a founding member of the Society, has been a fixture in the Treasure Coast community since the 1960s. …

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Seamonster Map

Josh “Captain Redbeard” Scott (Follow @redbeardsrelics — instagram.com/redbeardsrelics)Link to Captain Redbeard’s original post on Instagram: instagram.com/p/CkreJzlDc7w/ This exquisite original map of Iceland dates to 1585! Created by etching a copper plate, applying ink, and pressing the plate onto paper, this map was beautifully hand painted. This map is museum-quality! When I saw it at @blrmaps, I …

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From the Fleet Society Archives — January, 1962

Coins magazine, a staple of the numismatic community, recently announced that it was ceasing publication after 68 years. The cover of the first issue of Coins in January 1962 had a shipwreck/treasure theme so we thought it would be fitting to mention it here. We have a copy of this in our archive collection. The …

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Cryptic Object Discovered on Florida Beach

Image: The remnants of a shipwreck seen at Volusia County Beaches near Daytona Beach, Florida. (Facebook/Volusia County Beaches) Here is an interesting article that caught my eye. Near Daytona beachcombers spotted an unusual object. Thought to be the remains of a shipwreck, archaeologists from the state will be examining the mysterious item on Monday. Given …

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From the Fleet Society Archives — December 2, 1965

Here is an article from The Daily Times (Melbourne, Florida) December 2, 1965. (NOTE: Some background to this story is needed. In 1965 then Secretary of State, Tom Adams, attempted to tighten control over Florida waters’ treasure-hunting activities. At that time, the Real Eight Company was the principal leaseholder and salvage operator on the wreck …

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Fleet Society Member Co-Authors Major Article

Fleet Society member Jeremy Watherston (#145) who resides in Australia recently co-authored a major article on DNA testing of human remains from shipwrecks. Jeremy works in forensic science and operates one of the state’s Forensic Biology Units and is an Industry/Professional Fellow with the University of Technology Sydney and an Adjunct Associate Professor with Charles …

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Armada Chest from the 1600s!

Josh “Captain Redbeard” Scott (Follow @redbeardsrelics — instagram.com/redbeardsrelics)Link to Captain Redbeard’s original post on Instagram: instagram.com/p/CoI1ALPjsN0/ This is the crown jewel in my treasure chest collection. An absolutely stunning specimen of a chest that is nearly 400 years old! These chests were made in Germany by the same blacksmiths that made the suits of armor …

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