Category: Treasure of the Month

Our Treasure of the Month for October is a departure from our usual treasure offerings.  Unlike most of our featured treasures it is not something that can be held in one’s hand and studied up close. It is not made of gold or silver, is not a valuable gem or rare artifact. And, unlike most

Our Treasure of the Month for September features two silver eight reales from the Mexico City mint. Upon close observation, they do not appear to be particularly noteworthy, other than the fact that they are dated 1712 and 1715. There have been many auctions over the years that have offered similar coins for sale. So,

Our Treasure of the Month for August has its origins in a prior treasure that we featured a few years ago in December, 2015. Here is the story. On Sunday, August 15, 2010 diver Bonnie Schubert found an impressive artifact at the Douglass Beach Wreck site south of Fort Pierce, Florida. The artifact, a gold

Our featured treasure for July is a small but extremely deadly item used by the Spanish and often found on 1715 Fleet wreck sites. Used in close combat, the split shot was an early form of anti-personnel projectile. Made of lead, the split shot looks like a musket ball that has been cut in half

Our featured treasure for June does not have all of the eye appeal of past items that we have showcased here. But, nonetheless, this item was critical to the successful construction of ships used in the Spanish fleet system. Nails, pins and spikes made of iron, are often found among the scattered wrecks of the

The Treasure of the Month for April is this small group of gold Mexico eight escudos from the State of Florida Collection. What makes this group so special is the very odd shape portrayed in each coin. While odd and unusual shapes are not uncommon in coins from the Mexico City mint, these examples are

Our Treasure of the Month for March is this bowlful of eight reales recently purchased from the Bruce Ward Estate. These reales are all uncleaned, encrusted and have that ”fresh from the sea” appearance. Some are fused together into two and three coin “clumps”. The plate (or as I call it a bowl) is pewter

Our Treasure of the Month for February is this gold chain and toothpick from the State of Florida Collection. Officially identified as 72A 018 000042 0001, this item was found at the Rio Mar Wreck site just south of Vero Beach, Florida. This toothpick, or “grooming implement” is one of many that have been found

As we begin a new decade our hope is for success and prosperity in the coming years. For centuries gold has been equated with success and prosperity. Gold has also been memorialized in the lexicon by such phrases as “Good as gold”, “Heart of gold”,  “Worth its weight in gold” and so on. Therefore, we

For December’s Treasure of the Month we are going to revisit one of the most recognized and revered artifacts ever associated with the 1715 Fleet: the Dragon Whistle.  Previously featured as our Treasure of the Month for July 2013, the Dragon Whistle and chain was found on the beach near the Cabin Wreck site in

Not long ago our Treasure of the Month for November was quietly resting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. It was recovered from its hiding place on June 4, 2019 by Kenton Dickerson, while working in a nearshore area at the Corrigan’s Beach Wreck site, a few miles north of Vero Beach, Florida. Dickerson

Our Treasure of the Month for October is this beautiful (and extremely rare) two escudos gold piece from the old Spanish colonial mint of Santa Fe de Bogota located in Columbia. There is a fascinating history behind this coin and it is provided to us by Fleet Society member Dann Jacobus (#92) who is the

Our Treasure of the Month for September is this intriguing little 6.9 gram artifact recently recovered (August 10, 2019) near the Corrigan’s Beach  Wreck site north of Vero Beach. This tiny item is a 1/8  inch thick, 3/4 inch square bronze scale weight that features markings on it. One of the most defined markings is

Our Treasure of the Month for August is this group of coins and artifacts recently liberated from Neptune’s grasp in late June 2019. The “liberator” of these items was none other than Eric Schmitt, a well-known diver, credited with finding the famed “Tricentennial Royal” in June 2015. This particular coin was featured as our Treasure of the

Our Treasure of the Month for July is a free-blown utility bottle of the type used on sailing ships for the very practical purpose of storing or transporting liquid material such as wine, rum or brandy. For increased stability on rough seas, the bottles were fashioned with a wide bottom to prevent toppling over. Their

Every so often we feature an item as our monthly treasure that is not particularly unique or special but is noteworthy because it has a story to tell. Our Treasure of the Month for June is such an item. Although a beautiful coin, this undated Mexico four escudos is not by any stretch of the

Our Treasure of the Month for May is an authentic Spanish eight reales coin from the colonial mint at Mexico City encased in a block of Lucite. Weighing in at 131.25 grams, our treasure is 3” x 2” x 1” and is totally cocooned in hard, clear plastic, embossed near the top of one side

Our Treasure of the Month for April is something that has never been photographed before and is likely never to be photographed again. It is a neatly stacked group of gold Royals from the Spanish colonial mint at Mexico City. These specially struck coins are on broad, thin, round planchets. The legends are complete and

Our featured treasure for March is part of a group of artifacts that we have featured before. Known as “wedges” these silver items were often smuggled on board the larger, heavily-armed guard galleons as contraband. The pie shaped wedges were arranged in such a way that they could fit tightly in the bottom of a