Our first offering for 2025 is part of a small collection of Fleet coins gathered by an iconic but little-known figure from the early days of Fleet recovery. Rupert Louis Gates was born October 13, 1925. He grew up in Pasadena, California. He served in the US Navy late in World War II as a medical corpsman. Upon completion of his military duty he operated several businesses out of Torrance, California, including a marine salvage operation.
In the early 1960’s he met Mel Fisher who, at the time, was operating Mel’s Aqua Shop which was an early skin-diving store in Redondo Beach. Fisher was already interested in treasure diving, particularly in the Caribbean and Florida. He shared his enthusiasm with Gates and soon he too was hooked.
With some financial assistance from Gates, Fisher was able to move to Florida where they started Treasure Salvor’s Incorporated. The company first started working on the wreck sites of the 1715 Fleet and then moved on to the Florida Keys in search of the Atocha. Both ventures were successful. Gates was Fisher’s right-hand-man. Unlike the storied version of a treasure hunter, Gates was a serious minded well educated professional. A graduate of Stanford University, he was a diver himself and was not afraid to suit up and jump in “with the rest of the boys”. He was also a prolific records keeper, often photographing and cataloging coins that were found.
But all good things must come to an end, and so it was with Rupert Gates and Mel Fisher. After a difficult relationship, Gates left the company on 1971 and settled in Caldwell, Idaho. After relocating to Idaho, Gates spent his time on fly fishing and fish conservation. Sadly, he died at the age of 68 on September 26, 1994, while on a fishing trip in Russia.
During his tenure as a member of Fishers crew working the 1715 Fleet wreck sites, Gates acquired a respectable collection of 1715 Fleet coins. We are pleased to be the first to publish a part of his collection which was secured by a collector in 2015.
Here we see several dated Mexico silver reales which are a testament to Gates’ discerning eye. It is unfortunate that we do not know more about Rupert Gates and the role he played in the early days of 1715 Fleet recovery. What we do know was that he was an honorable man which in the treasure hunting business can be quite a compliment.
Below is a part of the coins collected by Rupert Gates.
Special thanks to Phil Flemming for contributing information about Rupert Gates that was incorporated into this text.
