[PoisedWoman]

Exciting! Have you visited the Atocha Museum in Key West? Atocha was a Spanish treasure ship finally dredged up off Florida. Much loot and a good documentary movie are on display in Cayo Oesto.....worth a trip.

[blam]

"Have you visited the Atocha Museum in Key West? "

No but, I saw a documentary on it.

[jimtorr]

I was fortunate enough to be in Key West when the mother lode of the Atocha was hauled in and divied up. Since I lived in the Truman Annex, on the navy base, I was able to watch the boats being unloaded a few times.

I visited the museum after the treasure had been divied up but before the bulk of it was hauled away. There were 3-foot tall stacks of large silver ingots everywhere, partially blocking the aisles. All of the best gold jewellry, with lots of emeralds and rubies, were still on display. Lots of armed guards, too.

Awesome is a fair description.

The Atocha is considered to be just an average treasure ship. A number of ships just like it sailed to Spain every few years for centuries.

If this latest ship hasn't already been looted, the finds could be pretty spectacular. Probably not on the scale of the Atocha, but still.......

[Ditter]

I have a piece of 8 that I wear that was found on the Atocha. I love the idea that it lay on the bottom of the ocean for hundreds of years.