Silver Bar from 1622 Spanish Galleon Found Off Florida

A team of US treasure hunters has recovered a silver bar weighing over 10 kilograms from the wreck of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which sank off Florida in 1622. The find is the first in the area since 1999 and is described as one of the "most significant" to date Source: listindiario.

The discovery

The bar was found by Mel Fisher's Shipwreck Expeditions off Key West, Florida. The group, which famously located the galleon's main treasure in 1985, stated that the recovery serves as a "tangible connection" to one of history's most famous shipwrecks and evidence that more treasure remains Source: infobae. The expedition is now led by Captain Drake Nicholas and diver Blake Baker Source: elespanol.

What remains

The Atocha was carrying an immense cargo when it sank: 24 tons of silver in 1,038 bars, 125 gold bars and discs, copper, tobacco, and silverware. The crew has identified "several promising additional targets" nearby, including the wreck of the Santa Margarita Source: elcaribedr. Historical records indicate that thousands of silver coins, hundreds of silver bars, gold artifacts, jewels, and emeralds from Colombia's Muzo mines may still lie on the ocean floor Source: elespanol.