Three centuries after a hurricane sent Spanish ships to the ocean floor, somebody's finally getting paid.
Professional salvage divers just hauled up more than 1,000 gold and silver coins worth over $1 million from Florida's "Treasure Coast."
And treasure hunters just pulled $1 million from Florida’s ocean floor and what they found changes everything about how we think about underwater salvage operations.
Over 1,000 Coins Recovered From 1715 Fleet Disaster
Captain Levin Shavers and his crew aboard the M/V Just Right spent their summer diving the wreckage of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet off Florida's Atlantic coast.
The fleet was carrying wealth from Spanish colonies in Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia back to Spain when a hurricane struck on July 31, 1715.¹
Eleven of twelve ships went down.
An estimated $400 million in treasure scattered across 50 miles of coastline.²
This summer's haul included more than 1,000 silver reales — the famous "pieces of eight" — plus five gold escudos and other rare gold artifacts.³
The coins came from a concentrated area deep in the sand.
Many still bear visible mint marks and dates from colonial mints.⁴
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"Finding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary," said Sal Guttuso, director of operations for 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC.⁵
The condition suggests they spilled from a single chest when the ship broke apart. Some coins even show the imprint pattern of a burlap sack.⁶
This Comes After A Nasty Theft Scandal Nearly Destroyed The Operation
The company running this salvage operation — 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC — has exclusive rights to dive these wrecks under U.S. Admiralty law.⁷
But they nearly lost everything after one of their subcontractors got caught stealing treasure.
In 2015, the Schmitt family discovered 101 gold coins while working as subcontractors.
They reported 51 of them. The other 50? Vanished.⁸
Eric Schmitt sold multiple stolen coins between 2023 and 2024.
The FBI caught him after digital forensics linked him to photos of the stolen coins taken at his Fort Pierce condominium.⁹
Three of those stolen coins?
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Schmitt actually placed them back on the ocean floor in 2016 to impress new investors in the salvage company.¹⁰
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recovered 37 of the 50 stolen coins from private homes, safe deposit boxes, and auctions.
Thirteen are still missing.¹¹
Schmitt now faces charges for dealing in stolen property.
The recovered coins went back to their rightful custodians as required by Florida law.¹²
That 2015 discovery included the "Tricentennial Royal" — an extremely rare coin minted for King Philip V of Spain, worth an estimated $500,000 alone.¹³
The total 2015 haul was valued at $4.5 million.¹⁴
This new discovery proves the company can still deliver results despite the theft scandal that rocked their credibility.
Florida Gets Its Cut And Everybody's Happy
Here's how the money works, and why state officials aren't getting in the way.
Under Florida law, any "treasure trove" or historic artifacts abandoned in state waters belong to the state.¹⁵
But the state permits salvage companies like Queens Jewels to conduct recovery operations.
Florida keeps about 20% of recovered artifacts for museums and public display.
The rest gets split between the salvage company and its subcontractors.¹⁶
That 20% cut is smart politics.
State officials get historical artifacts for free.
Museums get displays that draw tourists.
Nobody in Tallahassee has to appropriate a dime.
And treasure hunters get to keep searching for the remaining $400 million still buried under the sand.
Guttuso told the Associated Press his team develops detailed inventories each season for state review.
Florida officials select which pieces they want. A federal court approves the final split.¹⁷
The recovered coins will undergo conservation to stabilize them after centuries in seawater. Some pieces are already being prepared for museum exhibition.¹⁸
"Every find helps piece together the human story of the 1715 fleet," Guttuso said. "We are committed to preserving and studying these artifacts so future generations can appreciate their historical significance."¹⁹
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Translation: We're the good guys now. Please forget about the Schmitt family stealing 50 coins.
The 1715 Treasure Fleet has been a treasure hunter's dream since Kip Wagner found the first coins in 1961.
His discoveries were featured in National Geographic in 1965.²⁰
Legendary treasure hunter Mel Fisher controlled salvage operations from 1963 until 2010, when Queens Jewels acquired the rights.²¹
Despite decades of searching, most of the treasure remains beneath the sand and surf.
Each new find adds pieces to understanding colonial trade, life aboard Spanish galleons, and the risks of maritime travel during the empire era.
The ongoing salvage work operates under strict archaeological guidelines with state oversight. Every coin, every artifact gets documented before it leaves the seabed.²²
But here's what nobody's saying out loud: Florida's 20% cut means state officials have zero incentive to shut down these operations.
They're getting free museum exhibits while private salvage companies do all the work and take all the risk.
That's why this model works.
Everyone gets paid.
History gets preserved.
And tourists keep coming to Florida's "Treasure Coast" hoping to see Spanish gold.
¹ 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC, "Over 1,000 Silver and Gold Coins Recovered," Press Release, October 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Matt Lavietes, "$1M worth of coins recovered in Spanish shipwreck off Florida coast," NBC News, October 2, 2025.
⁵ 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC, Press Release, October 2025.
⁶ Matt Lavietes, NBC News, October 2, 2025.
⁷ Sebastian Daily, "Sebastian Treasure Hunter Seeks Federal Permit," May 2025.
⁸ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "37 Stolen Gold Coins Recovered," Press Release, November 26, 2024.
⁹ – ¹² Ibid.
¹³ Coinworld, "Recovered 1715 Treasure Fleet gold value pegged at $1 million," July 2015.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Florida Statutes, Chapter 267.
¹⁶ Florida Administrative Code, salvage operations regulations.
¹⁷ Associated Press, "Excavators find $1 million in gold coins," October 2, 2025.
¹⁸ 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC, Press Release, October 2025.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ 1715 Fleet Society, "History of Discoveries," 1715fleetsociety.com.
²¹ Ibid.
²² Sal Guttuso, quoted in multiple news sources, October 2025.
