News updates from directors of the 1715 Fleet Society, including stories, images, documents, and more. This is the main news feed for the society.
Hi all, Craig here – web admin for the 1715 Fleet Society. We launched the new website five years ago with just a few members and since then the Society has grown by leaps and bounds. Today we have more than 100 lifetime members and the site is visited by nearly 5,000 per month. Our
Since retiring at the end of December 2020, I have had the opportunity to dig into all of the old archival records and documents that I acquired over the last 15 years. As a result, I have come across many interesting articles, records, letters and documents from the early days of salvaging the wreck sites
Apparently the successful buyer of this Lima 4E piece (Lot 15) in the recent Sedwick Treasure Auction #7 agreed with its description as the “FINEST KNOWN!” of its type, for it brought down the hammer at $18,400 (15% buyer’s fee included). This is the companion piece to the Lima 8E (Lot 10) from the Frank
Our Treasure of the Month for September is this beautiful gold box with a coral rosary and rings set with various gemstones. The recovery of this fantastic treasure has a very interesting back story. On August 1, 1995 Mike Maguire was a part time carpet installer part time salvor working the wreck sites of the
Recently we received an email from one of our members reporting a recent recovery of a chest of ornate silver pieces found by veteran salvor Mike Perna and his 1st Mate Milan Kalelkar. Please access this link for details of this historically significant find. Also see our Treasure of the Month for May 2021 which
In all its “crispness” of strike and “butter gold” beauty, this 27.1 g. piece from the fated Spanish treasure fleet of 1715 must be seen in a color photo or in-person for full appreciation! A fully-dated 1714 8-escudos from the Mexico City mint, its obverse exhibits a full shield, a 99.44% (essentially full) crown, and
The recent ANA Show in Chicago saw a number of Fleet Society members in attendance. In addition to Fleet Society Director John Pullin (a.k.a. Santa Fe Santa), Tom Uram (Member #23) and Bob Evans (Member #78), were present. Tom, who is President of the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN) and a member of the Citizens
Here is an interesting story from Fleet Society Director John Pullin who recently attended the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Chicago. Our Director (see photo below) was having dinner when (in his own words) this occurred: “I went to a brew pub in Chicago for an early dinner. There was a mother, father and
As we have all witnessed, the last 18 months have exhibited a dramatic increase in the prices collectors and investors have paid for quality coins. This phenomena is not only visible in the numismatic arena but appears across the various collectible venues. To gain a perspective as it applies to the numismatic communities, I enclose
When the Real Eight Company opened its museum in Cape Canaveral (1968) they sold a number of interesting souvenirs in the gift shop. Among the items for sale were these post cards. You don’t see many post cards today but if you do see one of these we would suggest that you buy it as
The 1715 Fleet is lost in a violent hurricane off the east coast of Florida.
August’s Treasure of the Month is a group of Spanish silver reales from the 1715 Fleet collected by a long time resident of Florida’s renowned Treasure Coast. Our collector was not especially sophisticated in numismatics (as demonstrated by the fact that he kept the coins in a purple cloth “Crown Royal” bag) but knew enough
The July 2021 edition of Coin World Magazine (on sale until August 9) features a very interesting article on Lost and Found Treasure Ships including the 1715 Fleet. Written for Coin World by Gerald Tebben, the article focuses on coins recovered from various shipwrecks and discusses grading of shipwreck coins, valuation, auctions, salvage stories, and
This ruggedly handsome piece-of-eight was minted at the Mexico City facility. It’s a full date 1715 Mexico Eight Reales. 25.8 grams. Full and complete ‘OMJ’. All digits of date visible but not complete. Approximately 40% of shield visible … and extremely strong. Obverse hammer marks quite distinct, with one blunted corner visible. The blunted corner
The crew of the salvage vessel Defiance finds a large “rosary” composed of a six-inch by nine-inch medallion-and-chain cross with sixty inches of heavy gold chain. Douglass Beach Wreck site, Ft. Pierce, Florida.
Personal note: Recently I was invited to give a presentation to the members of the George Washington Numismatic Association (GWNA) in the nearby community of Washington, Pa. Founded in 1960, the Association is one of the oldest numismatic organizations in area. The group is presided over by Thomas Uram (Fleet Society member # 23) who
Greetings all. Here is an interesting article that I came across in the on-line weekly publication, E-Sylum. Published by Wayne Homren, E-Sylum is a must read for those interested in coins and all things coin related. The subject article was written by Gary Beals. It is a fascinating article which describes efforts by commercial salvors
The crew of the salvage vessel Pandion finds what is believed to be the fabled “Queen’s Jewels”. Cabin Wreck near Sebastian, Florida
Our Treasure of the Month for July is courtesy of Frank Noga of Eastlake, Ohio. Frank acquired this cute little artifact from the legendary Tommy Gore who worked during the heyday of recovery operations in the 1960’s as a Marine Archaeological Field Agent for the State of Florida. Field agents were sent onboard salvage vessels
The Real Eight Company finds a second nearly intact treasure chest containing silver coins at the Cabin Wreck site near Sebastian, Florida.
