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Would you be willing to travel to the bottom of the ocean’s depths in search of lost treasure? Perhaps the idea of boarding a 1 man submarine in search of the lost treasure of the Flor de La Mar, whose estimated value is $2.6 billion, or the mysteriously lost pirate hoard of the Oak Island Money Pit, whose value is impossible to estimate; is something you find exciting and inviting.

Some, more conservative sources, have estimated that the total amount of lost gold under the seas and oceans of the world would come closer to a total value of $2.6 billion overall. But who really knows?

What we do know is what has already been discovered by those who have gone out in search of lost treasure. Below you will find some of our favorite discoveries.

The Lost 1715 Fleet

This on-going discovery is exciting and interesting, not just for the +$400 million already found, but for the fact that this is an on-going discovery with new developments.

On July 31st, 1715, the Spanish fleet of 11 ships sailed out into a hurricane, off the coast of Florida. Film/movie buffs will remember how this event was immortalized in the 2008 film Fools Gold, starring Kate Hudson. The recorded value of the fleet was approximately 7 million pesos, though it would have been far greater when factoring in unrecorded smuggled goods. Over a thousand sailors lost their lives, never to return home. This event is a harsh reminder of nature’s awesome power.

With an extremely similar event occurring in 1733, where another Spanish fleet experienced a disaster at sea, it is no wonder that the Flordia coast they were departing from is known as the treasure coast.

The Lost 1715 Fleet Gold

The Césarée Sunken Treasure

On their scuba diving club’s trip in 2015, a group of unwitting individuals stumbled across what they initially thought to be children’s toy gold. Later they discovered that they had actually found over 2,000 valuable coins, some of which are over 1,000 years old.

If it had not been for a violent storm the previous night, stirring up the ocean floor, then they might never have been revealed and brought back into history.

As the collection of coins, minted between the 10th and 12th century, is essentially and theoretically priceless, this is not a bad chance encounter to have made! We’ll certainly be bringing my metal detector next time I holiday besides the Israeli coast!

The Caesarea Sunken Treasure

The SS Gairsoppa

Discovered in 2011, with the total amount of gold recovered valued at $38 million, the finding of this more recent wreck is an intriguing example of how much warfare can impact us in unexpected ways. This is due to the fact that this ship, which was torpedoed by the Nazis in 1941, alongside its gold and silver cargo, contained a collection of 700 letters to loved ones – who miraculously survived while 3 miles under the sea, preserved by the wreck.

The SS Gairsoppa’s 2,817 silver bars weighed a total of 110 tons, with a total of 200 tons worth of silver – valued at £150 million – having been recovered.

The ship sunk just 300 miles of the coast of Ireland, after having travelled the arduous journey from India to Galway, and it sunk to a depth of 4,700m below the surface of the sea. Alongside the financial value of this find, this is undoubtedly a testament to what went on during those turbulent times and the value of what brave men and women achieved in the face of evil.

The SS Gairsoppa Gold

(Source: PostalMuseum.org)

Neustra Senora de las Mercedes – Code Name ‘Black Swan’

Laden with treasures from South America, in 1804, this frigate ship sank off of the coast of Portugal, after a battle with the British.

As 2 major colonial powers, Anglo-Spanish relations had fluctuated for over 200 years – sometimes friends, sometimes enemies. The United Kingdom considered the military engagement that sunk the treasure “a necessity of war”, as this was during the height of the Napoleonic Wars. To the Spanish, Britain had committed an act of piracy.

The Anglo-Spanish wars didn’t end until 1840, and the loss of the treasure would have held a bitter taste in the mouths of the Spanish, during the periods of conflict between the 2 nations, over the next 36 years.

In 2007 though, a US salvage company found the items, valued at $500 million, and after it was determined that the Black Swan loot did belong to the Mercedes, it was awarded back to the Spanish Government.

Neustra Senora de las Mercedes Sunken Treasure

After a quick look at how much personal submarines cost, we have decided that we’re going to invest the money in bullion instead, as it seems a far safer idea of increasing your financial wealth than searching the ocean’s depths for potential Atlantean lost gold – though we might do some metal detecting on our holidays!

What about you though? Are you prepared to go out in search of history’s lost treasures that lay there at the bottom of the sea? If not, then why not give the Bleyer team a call on 01769 618618 or email sales@bleyer.co.uk and start your holding in Gold bars and coins today.

Read ‘The Most Expensive & Rare Coins Sold at Auction’ here.