Ben Costello is one of the original three directors (which included Ernie Richards and Phil Flemming) who started the 1715 Fleet Society in 2008. He is an attorney from Washington, Pennsylvania, whose passion for shipwreck coins, in general, and the 1715 Fleet, in particular, began as an offshoot of his interest in numismatics, which dates back to his early childhood. As a collector of early American U.S. coppers, he gravitated toward shipwreck coins because, as he likes to say, “These are coins that talk. They have a story to tell. Unlike most collectible coins, you can hold a shipwreck coin in your hand and know exactly where it came from. You know its history and its story. This is what intrigues me the most about these coins. I feel a connection to its history.”
Mr. Costello is the Chairman of the Board, and his main role within the Society is to manage the website and provide content. He authors many of the articles found on the site and provides the text for the monthly feature known as the “Treasure of the Month.” In 2017, he, along with his co-directors at the time, Ernie Richards and Phil Flemming, authored the Society’s first book, “Treasures of a Lost Fleet.” In 2021, the Society published a follow-up called “Treasures of a Lost Fleet II.” He also works closely with the Society’s Academic Coordinator, Phil Flemming, to plan educational conferences.
The Society has had several very successful conferences — Vero Beach (2015), St. Augustine (2017), and again in Vero Beach (2022 and 2024). The conferences focused on different aspects of the 1715 Fleet story, how the fleet was lost, rediscovered, and recovered. A fifth conference is scheduled to be held in Vero Beach in January 2026. This conference will be held in conjunction with the Indian River State College (IRSC).
As Chairman of the Board, he is also involved with fundraising for the new 1715 Fleet Society 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Mr. Costello resides with his wife, Jan, in Venetia, Pennsylvania.