Mel Fisher's Team Recovers 22.5-Pound Atocha Silver Bar Worth Up to $100,000
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 14
Mel Fisher's Team Recovers 22.5-Pound Atocha Silver Bar Worth Up to $100,000
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 14
Summary
Mel Fisher's Shipwreck Expeditions pulled a 22.5-pound silver bar from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha wreck off Key West—the first silver bar the expedition has recovered there since 1999.
A very strong metal-detector signal led divers working from the salvage vessel DARE to the target in about 50 feet of water, where they used an airlift to clear sand and sediment.
The bar, heavily encrusted but largely intact, is now undergoing conservation; officials said a purity-test depression from before the Atocha sank in 1622 is still visible.
Officials estimate the artifact's market value at $50,000 to $100,000, though they said its historical value is greater than the silver itself.
The find suggests the 1622 Spanish galleon still holds substantial treasure, with expedition officials saying hundreds of silver bars and thousands of coins and emeralds may remain.