What's the Total Value of the World's Sunken Treasure?

Popular Mechanics ^ | Rob Goodier

[SunkenCiv]

Don't be fooled by the flashy dollars figures, Mitchell-Cook argues -- we can't know how much wealth is at the bottom of the sea, but it's not enough to make it worth your time.

There's no documentation for many shipwrecks and disappearances, Mitchell-Cook says. And there's no way to know what happened to the wreck. Some ships drop intact in deep water, others run aground, or break up in a storm and scatter their remains for miles. "Also, currents, bottom conditions, temperature of water, and other factors can work to preserve or destroy a vessel," she says. Don't forget fishing, construction, and salvage, which can also disrupt a wreck site.

Delgado, who has excavated wrecks for archaeology institutions throughout his career, says the litany of unknowns is part of the explanation for why wreck hunting is so expensive. "The street value of shipwrecks is minimal. Generally it's a losing proposition, except in a few cases, because it costs more to find them, work them, and deal with what you find. An average mission in deep water can run into the millions, and that's just to find it. For every dollar you spend looking and finding, you'll spend about $10 excavating and treating what you've found [to offset] chemical changes that happen underwater."

And then there's the question of whether you can keep what you find. Governments, insurance companies, and anyone with a chance at a legal claim will set their sights on recovered treasure. Fisher says court cases figure into the projected costs of doing business as a wreck hunter.

[mylife]

Some of it probably got made into gold and enameled tableware.

I am kicking myself in the arse for not buying that stuff when the USSR collapsed.

[mylife]

[SunkenCiv]

I probably think this topic’s about me. ;’)

[SunkenCiv]

Hey, fool me once...

[SunkenCiv]

Hey, the Spanish stole that gold fair and square.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!