Posted on 03/25/2011 8:10:34 PM PDT by smokingfrog
KEY WEST, FLA.Shipwreck experts are evaluating a centuries-old-101-centimetre gold chain plucked from the sea floor while searching for a 17th-century sunken Spanish galleon off the Florida Keys.
The piece is tentatively valued at about $250,000. It is believed to be from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank during a 1622 hurricane. It was found Wednesday by divers from Mel Fishers Treasures about 55 kilometres west of Key West.
The chain has 55 links, an enameled gold cross and a two-sided engraved religious medallion featuring the Virgin Mary and a chalice.
(Excerpt) Read more at thestar.com ...
You discover a wreck in a lot of the world and you report it "legally" to the govt, you may be thrown out of the country or arrested.
So that El Presidente's worthless brother-in-law can salvage the wreck that you found.
The problem becomes how to fence the more valuable items. A cover story must be developed.
Bullion will be melted down.
Yeah, but the story identified the divers as part of Fisher’s org. and the find was made public.
Doesn’t sound like a midnight salvage job.
Sometimes things found one place are attributed to another, for the reasons I outlined.
makes sense..got back last nite....2500 miles later
man..US highways coming out of Florida into to the US are so crowded
it’s basically like game day weekend from Miami all the way to Chattanooga on I-75..got a little better on I-24 home after that
I cannot believe how much more crowded Miami is in just 20 years...nicer though...impressive.
God’s waiting room is no more...it’s more like break your neck looking at babes by the hundreds and get smacked by wifey nowadays..incredible
.
The medallion looks interesting. Any more info on it?
The chain was found Wednesday by diver Bill Burt from Mel Fisher’s Treasures.
Burt had been searching for the sterncastle of the Atocha, about 35 miles west of Key West, according to Andy Matroci, captain of the Fisher search vessel J.B. Magruder.
“Bill comes up with this beautiful gold artifact,” he said. “It has a cross on it with black enamel and a gold medallion, and lots of lettering on the medallion and the cross.”
The chain’s 55 links resemble cotter pins, while the medallion features an engraved Virgin Mary and chalice.
The cross appears to be inscribed in Latin.
The Atocha shipwreck has been an historic treasure trove, but salvage teams have yet to discover the contents of the vessel’s sterncastle.
more info & pictures @ http://www.melfisher.com/SalvageOperations/RecentFinds/032511_RelArt/Cross.asp
Pretty ugly chain, though.
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