April 27, 2007 The biggest coin treasure

An incredible discovery was made in 2007 by submarine researchers from Odyssey Marine Exploration. At the bottom of the sea, they discovered the wreck of a ship carrying seventeen tons of silver and gold coins.

The value of this treasure was estimated at $ 500 million. The wreckage of the ship was explored by American researchers at the bottom of the Atlantic. The treasure was then evaluated by coin expert Nick Bruyer, according to whom it is unprecedented. "I don't know anything to compare it to," he said.

Researchers at Odyssey Marine Exploration are based in Tampa, Florida. At first, they refused to disclose exactly where the wreck was found. They just revealed that there are several wrecked ships there.

"Because the wreck was found in an area where many colonial-era vessels sank, there is still some uncertainty about its nationality, size and age," said Greg Stemm, co-director of Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Photo gallery: https://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/01/world/gallery/spain-odyssey-sunken-treasure/index.html

Litigation and claims of Spain

The Spaniards began to claim treasure. The dispute with researchers who secretly transported the coins to the United States even ended in court. It turned out that the treasure was in the wreck of the Spanish regatta Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, which sank in a battle with English ships in October 1804. It sank near Gibraltar.

Therefore, Spain believed that the treasure belonged to them. U.S. researchers have argued that the ship's identity is uncertain, but declined to disclose the exact coordinates of the find. "Our sister de las Mercedes did not fulfill a military mission at the time of its sinking. She mostly transported private goods, "Odyssey lawyer Melinda MacCononne, who spoke at CNN, argued at the time.

The Peruvian government has also claimed the treasure. It was the coins in the wreck that were struck in 1803 in the then Spanish colony of Peru, from which Nuestra Señora set out on her last journey. Experts found out, who could see part of the treasure.

The dispute dragged on for several years. It was not until 2012 that a treasure from a shipwreck more than two centuries ago headed for the Museum of Naval Archeology in the Spanish city of Cartagena. Spain has won the court. Queen Sofia of Spain at the time promised to lend some of the coins to her country in Bolivia, which also claimed the treasure.

Sources: www.theguardian.com, www.novinky.cz, www.aktualne.cz, www.denik.czPhoto: www.wikipedia.org