Newspapers reported that the state of Florida was maintaining an air of secrecy regarding the number of coins found by treasure hunters who recovered coins while operating under leases provided by the state. It appeared that disclosing the number of coins could have an adverse effect on the coin-collecting market. Citing an example, 15,000 silver coins were found on a galleon that wrecked off Grand Bahama Island and was salvaged in 1963. Apparently, once the number of coins found was revealed, the price of the silver coins went from $100.00 each to $3.00 each. So, secrecy was adopted as the most prudent course of action.
