Divers find gold bars, coins in Fla. Keys

[Fish_Whisperer]

Associated Press (Florida Today)

KEY WEST, Fla. - Divers returned to port Monday with two gold bars and 15 silver coins they unearthed, which had been buried beneath the ocean floor for almost 400 years.

The objects are believed to be from the shipwreck of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank off Key West in 1622.

The bars were discovered Sunday by the divers from Mel Fisher's Treasure Salvors on the treasure-hunting ship the Magruder about 35 miles off of Key West. They were found beneath about 12 feet of sand in 20 feet of water.

The first bar found weighed one pound and measured about 7 inches long, while the second weighed two pounds and was 7.25 inches long.

Kim Fisher, the president of the Fisher company, estimated the value of the find to be about $250,000.

 

[Spratman]

Nice! I was just talking to those guys at BTS. A diver's fantasy....

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

I wonder how much they get to keep, or if all of it has to be turned over to the government, and what their methods were in finding and extracting their what they found. I'm reading, "Submerged" by Daniel Lenihan, and he takes a very dim view of treasure hunters and salvors. Either way, yeah... A diver's dream!

 

[mike_s]

The state of Florida I think tried to claim the treasure from the wreck after Fisher found it initally many years ago.. He won it in a court battle. So they get to keep all of it. I have no clue how it is taxed though.

 

[sandshaker]

Man... I thought I was lucky when I found a quarter??!!

But that’s awesome

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

The state of Florida I think tried to claim the treasure from the wreck after Fisher found it initally many years ago.. He won it in a court battle. So they get to keep all of it. I have no clue how it is taxed though.

Cool. I don't support some of the stuff that I've heard, of outfits blowing holes in the sides of wrecks and destructive stuff like that, but I do think divers should get to keep what they've found. As for taxation, maybe they tax against the estimated value of the find?

 

[maj2]

http://www.melfisher.com/TreasureSales/store/Scripts/default.asp

The gold and silver bars (and all of the items) from the Atocha sell for a handsome price. I haven't worked out what they sell for per ounce, but I suspect they clear the taxes with room to spare.

Kind of neat to look at the stuff they are selling!

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

http://www.melfisher.com/TreasureSales/store/Scripts/default.asp

The gold and silver bars (and all of the items) from the Atocha sell for a handsome price. I haven't worked out what they sell for per ounce, but I suspect they clear the taxes with room to spare.

Kind of neat to look at the stuff they are selling!

Wow! VERY cool!

 

[PhotoTJ]

I absolutely despise the fact that no one give a hoot about this stuff till someone else comes along and puts in the time and sweat to find it, then everyone wants a piece.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

I absolutely despise the fact that no one give a hoot about this stuff till someone else comes along and puts in the time and sweat to find it, then everyone wants a piece.

Well, that's not necessarily true. I'm reading "Submerged," by Daniel Lenihan. It's about underwater archeologists. Very cool book, and he has quite a lot to say about artifacts and what some salvagers have done in the name of finding artifacts.