July’s Treasure of the Month was a few short weeks ago residing on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of Florida. Found in May, our treasure consists of over 210 silver reales (mostly eights and fours) that have been lost since the sinking of the 1715 Fleet, some 309 years ago. This recovery is notable due to the rarity today of finding so many coins at the same time in one location on a Fleet wreck site.
In the early to mid-1960’s it was not unusual for divers to recover thousands of Fleet-related silver coins in a single day. Original Real Eight member Lou UllianLouis J. (Lou) Ullian (1932 – 2010) Was a diver and original member of the Real Eight Company. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts he served in the U.S. Navy, Naval Weapons Station from 1956 – 19... wrote in his journal that from June 22, 1965, to June 26, 1965, his team recovered 11,200 loose silver coins and an additional 1,100 pounds of silver coins, many fused together in aggregates or “clumps”.
Encrusted with ocean deposits of shell and sand these chunky objects might be mistaken for rocks by the untrained observer.
However, after years of on-the-job education the divers who recovered these coins are acutely aware of what they are looking for. Once the coins are conserved and the encrusted material removed, silver coins will emerge from their entombment to be studied and enjoyed collectively by the shipwreck community. In that regard our thanks go out to the men and women who diligently continue to work the wreck sites of the 1715 Fleet, searching ever harder for treasure that is becoming more and more elusive.
Finally, check out this video of the recovery from Fox News Orlando: ‘Never expect it’: Florida treasure hunters find hundreds of silver coins from historic 1715 shipwrecks.
