I've always enjoyed a good treasure hunt and enjoy scuba diving to search for lost treasures. One of the best places on the planet to search for sunken treasure is the Caribbean as many treasure laden ships headed for Spain have sunk in the region. The British Virgin Islands created a series of coins in 1985 to honor and commemorate all the lost vessels and treasures called fittingly "Sunken Ship Treasures of the Caribbean." I have been collecting the series for several years and still missing a couple which I hope to pick up soon.
Today I wanted to share the Emerald Ring coin. Many people don't realize that the Spanish ships weren't just carrying gold and silver, one of the most valuable treasures onboard were emeralds taken from the mines in Colombia. Colombia has some the the finest if not the finest emeralds produced anywhere on the planet and the Spanish conquistadors were quick to take advantage. They plundered many, many fine emeralds to send off to the Spanish royalty. This coin displays an emerald ring similar to many lost at the bottom of the Caribbean sea.
About the coin:
This coins series I've been sharing for quite some time. They were produced with sterling silver at The Franklin Mint in Wawa, Pennsylvania. They produced some of the finest commemorative coins for small nations around the world in the 1970's and 1980's. This set is a fun set to collect since they aren't too expensive it you shop around. They make a nice addition to any silver stack or coin collector.
The Lost Fleet of 1715
In 1715 a fleet of treasure laden Spanish galleons set sail from Havana bound for Spain with emeralds, gold and silver. While sailing up the Florida coast they had the misfortune to sail into a hurricane. Eleven of the twelve ships were sunk along the coast line as they were smashed into the reefs. Most of the treasure went down with them. Many of the wrecks have been located but a few are still undiscovered. The treasure coast of Florida frequently has gold and silver coins found along the beaches after strong storms and hurricanes, all from the lost fleet.
One treasure hunter in particular named Gary Drayton has been very lucky in his search along the coast with a metal detector finding gold and silver coins. His most impressive find was not found on the beach, but in the mangrove swamps just behind the beach where part of the treasure was deposited. He recovered this ring from the swamp and it's worth $750,000 US. Although no one knows who the intended recipient was, he believes it was bound for Queen of Spain.
minelab.com
**La Nuestra Señora de Atocha **
In 1622 the Spanish galleon La Nuestra Señora de Atocha was sailing at the tail end of a caravan of ships bound for Spain. They were all full of treasure but had to the bad luck to sail into a hurricane. The Atocha was sunk when was smashed against a reef in the Dry Tortugas off the coast of Florida. Mel Fisher discovered the wreck and he and his family have been recovering the treasure ever since. They have found some beautiful emeralds along with gold, silver and pearls.
Mel had to fight a very long legal battle with the state of Florida to keep his treasure. He prevailed in court after appealing to the supreme court but as a result all treasures from the Atocha come with a very steep premium. These are some of the emeralds they have recovered so far:
This ring was sold at auction a year or two ago and also was recovered from the Atocha. The proceeds were donated to aid Ukraine in the war against Russia by the ring's owner. At auction it sold for $1.2 millions dollars US for the 5.7 carat ring.
These finds are just a tiny fraction of all of the emeralds still sitting on the bottom of the ocean just waiting to be found. Not to mention and the gold and silver as well. So if you like hunting for treasure like me there is still a lot to be found. With solid research and a lot of luck maybe some of it can be yours! I myself have searched along the treasure coast with my metal detector. So far I've not found any treasure, but I'm holding out hope that mine is still waiting for me!
Thanks for stopping by to check out my post. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please feel free to leave them below. Have a great Wednesday!
And my disclaimer:
Gold and silver collecting and stacking can be a fun hobby but isn't for everyone. You can lose money. I'm not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice, please always do your own research before spending your hard earned money.
All pictures are mine unless otherwise noted.
https://biographyresearch.org/gary-drayton-from-oak-island-found-a-ring-worth-750000/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombian_emeralds
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces39674.html
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