In Search Of Sunken Treasure

Who among us hasn't dreamed at one time of finding sunken treasure? Who hasn't thrilled to the prospect of recovering antique gold and silver coins, jewel-encrusted goblets and other priceless artifacts that may have been lost on the ocean floor for hundreds of years?

Treasure hunting is one activity that promises mystery, adventure, romance, danger and exotic locales. It has also been the basis of many a novel, film, and childhood fantasy. Jewelry lovers especially seem to be enthralled by undersea treasure, judging from the brisk sales of authentic coins and jewelry salvaged from actual shipwrecks, as well as the healthy demand for replica coins and coin jewelry pieces. Case in point: thanks to the tremendous buzz surrounding the movie blockbuster Titanic, crystal replicas of the stunning "Heart of the Ocean" blue diamond necklace featured in the film were hot items.

Here are some famous shipwrecks that yielded vast fortunes in coins, jewels and other treasures:

Atocha -- This Spanish galleon (full name: Nuestra Senora de Atocha -- Our lady of Atocha) was lost during a hurricane in the Florida Keys in 1622. The ship was laden with 47 troy tons of treasure. The wreck site was discovered by noted salvager Mel Fisher in 1985. Since its discovery, the site has yielded an estimated $500 million in treasure. It has been called the richest sunken treasure ship ever found. Many collectible reproductions of coins and jewelry found from the Atocha -- including those struck from actual Atocha silver -- are available to collectors.

Conception -- In 1641, the Nuestra Senora de la Pur Y Limpia Conception (Our lady of the Immaculate Conception), a large Spanish treasure galleon laden with Mexican gold and silver, sunk off the coast of Puerto Rico after being damaged by a severe storm. An English salvage crew recovered about 60,000 pounds of silver from the wreckage site in 1687, but left much of the treasure on the sea floor. After 10 years of searching, Burt D. Webber Jr. rediscovered the wreck in 1978 and found a huge hoard of coins, marking the Conception as one of the greatest finds in history.

Fleet of 1715 -- In 1715, a hurricane off the east coast of Florida sunk 11 of 12 Spanish treasure ships. The vessels were laden with millions of gold and silver coins, ingots, jewelry and other treasures. Salvager Kip Wagner found several of the wrecks in the 1960s and ultimately recovered a priceless treasure trove of jewels, silverware and gold and silver ingots -- as well as more than 10,000 gold coins and more than 100,000 silver coins.

Whydah -- In 1717, this pirate ship under the command of Captain "Black Sam" Bellamy ran aground in a violent storm and was lost in the shifting sands of Marconi Beach on Cape Cod. The ship had been carrying priceless booty taken from more than 50 ships. In 1984, a team led by underwater explorer Barry Clifford located this fabled wreck and has since recovered thousands of gold and silver Spanish coins called "pieces of eight" and numerous other priceless artifacts.

Capitana -- This Spanish galleon (full name: El Capitana el Rubi Segundo) was part of a treasure fleet that sunk along the Florida Keys in the hurricane of 1733. Some 18 ships in the armada were lost. The Capitana had an estimated $6 million in precious metals on board; altogether, the fleet was carrying a combined $12 million (most of which was recovered by Spanish salvagers right after the wrecks). Famed salvager Art McKee salvaged the Capitana and several other ships in the fleet in the 1940s. McKee recovered thousands of artifacts from the wreckage and opened a treasure museum in Plantation Key, Fla., to display the collection.

Central America -- In 1857, a side-wheel steamer on its way from Panama to New York sank off the coast of Cuba following a severe storm. What made the Central America notable was that it was carrying nearly 600 passengers returning from the Gold Rush and some 21 tons of California gold then valued at $13 million. In 1987, the wreckage site was located by treasure hunter Tommy Thompson, who has since used high-tech equipment to help locate and recover thousands of gold coins, tons of gold bullion and other artifacts that rest thousands of feet below the surface.

HMS Edinburgh -- This British Destroyer was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1942. It was abandoned and sunk by the British Navy to keep its precious cargo out of the hands of the enemy: five tons of Russian gold bullion that had been en route to the United States as payment for military supplies. The wreck, located more than 800 feet down in the icy waters near the Arctic Circle, was beyond the range of divers and forgotten about for some 40 years. However, the Edinburgh was finally salvaged in the 1980s by author Ric Wharton, who used deep diving technology developed for the North Sea oil industry to recover gold bars worth approximately $70 million. Wharton's salvage effort was the deepest ever carried out by divers.