Lost treasures at sea include legendary pirate hoards, immense royal riches from sunken galleons like the San José, and artifacts from famous wrecks like the Titanic, with millions in gold, silver, jewels, and historical items still undiscovered, from Spanish gold to the mythical riches of Blackbeard. The total amount of sunken wealth is staggering, with millions of shipwrecks estimated to lie on the ocean floor, holding untold riches.
San José was a 64-gun galleon of the Spanish Navy. It was launched in 1698 and sank in battle off Barú Island, just south of Cartagena, Colombia, in 1708, while laden with gold, silver and emeralds worth about US$17 billion as of 2023.
Of all the locations, our oceans and seas probably harbour the largest collection of them. The United Nations has estimated at least three million shipwrecks are lying across our ocean floors. Some of those wrecks could be of immense historical significance and even contain monetary treasure.
Fisher's company fought the state, claiming the find should be the company's exclusively. After eight years of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favour of Treasure Salvors and it was awarded rights to all found treasure from the vessel on 1 July 1982.
As of 2024, only three of the twelve boxes have been found.
The San José
This Spanish ship sank in 1708 near Colombia while on its way from Peru to Spain. It was filled with gold, silver, and emeralds. While nearing Cartagena, it met British ships, and a fierce battle followed. The San José exploded and sank, taking treasures worth around $20 billion down with it.
In 1998, the Hawaii Supreme Court held that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that Roxas found the treasure and that Marcos converted it.
These and other valuable items would have been stored in the captain's cabin for safekeeping in the rear part of Nuestra Señora de Atocha. After the discovery in 1971, the State of Florida claimed title to the wreck and forced Treasure Salvors, Inc.
We continue to actively search for and recover the remaining lost treasures of the Atocha and the Santa Margarita while also searching for other yet to be discovered shipwrecks. Each precious piece of history we recover goes through an extensive conservation process in our state of the art conservation lab.
Whether it is buried pirate treasure or riches that were lost due to a ship sinking, there are still many rumoured ocean hauls to be found.
Not all lost WWII treasures are man-made. In September 1941, China sent 200 early human fossils to the U.S. to keep them safe in case Japan invaded. Yet these “Peking Man” fossils, as they were known, never arrived. Some have speculated the fossils were destroyed, but others have hope that they're still around.
Our oceans contain around 20 million tons of dissolved gold. However, this means there is only about one gram of gold for every 110 million tons of ocean water. Many gold deposits exist deep within the sea floor, and some deposits can often be trapped underneath rock as far down as 35,000 feet.
Its remains are visible scarcely more than two feet below the surface. The America earned its place in “turn of the century” history as the principal transportation and communication link to Isle Royale as well as all of the remote North Shore settlements.
In a press release, the company, called 1715 Fleet–Queens Jewels LLC, reported that the discovery had been made late last summer along the stretch of Southeast Florida known as the “Treasure Coast.” 1715 Fleet–Queens Jewels currently owns the exclusive salvage rights to the remains of the1715 Treasure Fleet.
Our programs emphasize the history and science behind the discovery of the Whydah— the only authenticated pirate flagship ever found.
Only investors are invited to dive the Atocha wreck site. Feel the thrill of searching for real Spanish treasure with our professional recovery team.
The Court has since held that Titanic Ventures, now known as R.M.S. Titanic, Inc. (RMST), continues to have the right to salvage the wreck but does not own it or any artifacts recovered from the wreck site unless and until the Court specifically grants title to the recovered artifacts.
Treasure hunter Mel Fisher spent over 16 years searching for treasure of the Spanish galleon Atocha with its priceless artifacts and treasures. Today the museum is filled with the gold, silver and jewels of his discovery along with exhibits about the maritime history of shipwrecking.
Those maps, he supposedly found in Mexico, pointed to a location in Utah being the fabled spot. So far, nothing has been uncovered in the United States. The only piece of gold certifiably identified as being a part of Montezuma's treasure was found in 1981 in Mexico City by construction workers.
The remains of Magellan's crew, 18 men, would return to Spain in 1522, finishing the first circumnavigation of the world. While Magellan might not have made it to the end of his voyage and there is no lost treasure (that we know of), King Charles I would eventually rename the strait in Magellan's honor.
While more than 99.999% of Earth's gold and other precious metals remain beyond human reach, researchers from the University of Göttingen have found tantalizing evidence that some of these elements may leak upward.
The treasure was eventually found by a 32-year-old medical student named Jack Stuef. He discovered it in the Rocky Mountains and later confirmed the find to Fenn. Once hunters learned where the treasure had been hidden for a decade, some felt the solution had been devastatingly simple.
Scientists in Colombia have recovered artifacts from a sunken Spanish galleon that's known as the holy grail of shipwrecks. The San Jose went down in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago. It's believed to hold billions of dollars worth of gold, silver and emeralds.
The San José in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia
Often called “the world's richest” shipwreck, Spanish naval galleon San José carried up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and uncut gemstones when it sank in 1708 during a battle with British warships. (Read more about the San José.)