Novice makes million-dollar find
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Three-centuries-old gold chalice part of shipwreck
BY MANDY BOLEN
Citizen Staff
Michael DeMar is not likely to change jobs anytime soon.
The 20-year-old treasure diver from Seattle surfaced on Tuesday with a 386-year-old golden chalice from the site of the Santa Margarita shipwreck.
The Spanish galleon sank in 1622 in the same hurricane that decimated its sister ship, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha.
Crews from Blue Water Ventures have been working in a joint partnership with Mel Fisher's Treasures to find and excavate the remaining treasure of the Margarita, while Mel Fisher divers continue to work at the Atocha shipwreck site.
Until Tuesday, DeMar, the newest member of the Blue Water dive team, had found only pottery shards at the wreck site, said Sharon Wiley, head of public relations for Mel Fisher's Treasures.
That all changed in 30 feet of water as DeMar fanned away about a foot of sand and found the chalice, with a bowl large enough to hold a softball.
"What a spectacular discovery," said Blue Water Ventures Key West President/CEO W. Keith Webb. "Not only because of the astounding beauty and rarity of the artifact, but also because the area of exploration that produced it the northernmost point that gold has ever been found has given our team every reason to expect a very adventurous summer."
The chalice, called a bernegal in Spanish, has two handles and is adorned with ornate scrollwork at the top, along with a crest in its bowl, Wiley said.
The crest may indicate individual ownership by one of the wealthy members of the Spanish aristocracy, said Kim Fisher, president and CEO of Mel Fisher's Treasures.
Kim Fisher is the son of the late treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who spent more than a decade searching for the treasure of the Atocha, eventually finding more than $400 million in gold, silver and emeralds in 1985.
Kim Fisher said it is difficult to put a dollar value on such a unique artifact, but said initial estimates show it to be worth more than a million dollars.
The chalice is covered lightly with heavy-mineral deposits, called calcareous concretions, which will be removed by Senior Conservator John Corcoran, Wiley said.
The Blue Water Rose temporarily returned to Stock Island Wednesday amid champagne spray and a sip from a golden chalice.
mbolen@keysnews.com
BY MANDY BOLEN
Citizen Staff
Michael DeMar is not likely to change jobs anytime soon.
The 20-year-old treasure diver from Seattle surfaced on Tuesday with a 386-year-old golden chalice from the site of the Santa Margarita shipwreck.
The Spanish galleon sank in 1622 in the same hurricane that decimated its sister ship, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha.
Crews from Blue Water Ventures have been working in a joint partnership with Mel Fisher's Treasures to find and excavate the remaining treasure of the Margarita, while Mel Fisher divers continue to work at the Atocha shipwreck site.
Until Tuesday, DeMar, the newest member of the Blue Water dive team, had found only pottery shards at the wreck site, said Sharon Wiley, head of public relations for Mel Fisher's Treasures.
That all changed in 30 feet of water as DeMar fanned away about a foot of sand and found the chalice, with a bowl large enough to hold a softball.
"What a spectacular discovery," said Blue Water Ventures Key West President/CEO W. Keith Webb. "Not only because of the astounding beauty and rarity of the artifact, but also because the area of exploration that produced it the northernmost point that gold has ever been found has given our team every reason to expect a very adventurous summer."
The chalice, called a bernegal in Spanish, has two handles and is adorned with ornate scrollwork at the top, along with a crest in its bowl, Wiley said.
The crest may indicate individual ownership by one of the wealthy members of the Spanish aristocracy, said Kim Fisher, president and CEO of Mel Fisher's Treasures.
Kim Fisher is the son of the late treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who spent more than a decade searching for the treasure of the Atocha, eventually finding more than $400 million in gold, silver and emeralds in 1985.
Kim Fisher said it is difficult to put a dollar value on such a unique artifact, but said initial estimates show it to be worth more than a million dollars.
The chalice is covered lightly with heavy-mineral deposits, called calcareous concretions, which will be removed by Senior Conservator John Corcoran, Wiley said.
The Blue Water Rose temporarily returned to Stock Island Wednesday amid champagne spray and a sip from a golden chalice.
mbolen@keysnews.com
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Even if you were alllowed to keep such a thing, it would be so difficult to bring yourself to sell it.
