Florida authorities have recovered 37 gold coins worth more than $1 million that were stolen from the 1715 Fleet shipwrecks, the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said on Nov. 26.
The FWC said the gold coin recovery marked “a major milestone” in a years-long investigation into the theft and illegal trafficking of historical artifacts.
The gold coins were initially found by contracted salvage operators for the 1715 Fleet—comprising Spanish ships that sank in a hurricane off Florida’s coast in 1715—off Florida’s Treasure Coast in 2015.
There were 101 gold coins found from the wreckages, but only 51 of them were reported and adjudicated, while the remaining gold coins were not disclosed and were later stolen, the FWC said in a statement….