Key West, Florida | Unique Collections
On September 4, 1622, a fleet of twenty-eight Spanish ships left port in Havana, Cuba. The ships were transporting the wealth of the Spanish empire from Central and South America to the motherland in Europe. The following day, the fleet was overtaken by hurricane and by the 6th of September, eight ships had found their way to the sea floor, scattered between the Marquesas Keys and Dry Tortugas.
One of the eight ships that went down was the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. Aboard the Atocha, along with passengers, was a cargo of silver, gold, copper, bronze, silverware, tobacco, jewelry and indigo. The exact amounts were reported in the later translated manifest, but do not include all the extras that were unregistered to avoid taxation.
Of the 265 passengers that went down with the ship, only five survived. After rescuing survivors, rescuers tried to enter into the sunken ship, but due to lack of technology during this time period, were unable to stand the 55 foot depth for long. They marked the location of the Atocha, and vowed to come back to it.
Luck was not with the Spanish, and a second hurricane came through the area, further destroying and scattering the wreck of Nuestra Senora de Atocha. For the next 60 years, the Spanish would attempt to relocate the sunken treasure without any luck.
In 1969, almost three centuries later, American treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his team began an incessant, sixteen year search for the remains of Nuestra Senora de Atocha. Many times, for months on end, the team would go without any luck, struggling financially to keep their search moving forward.
In 1973, a few silver bars were found and matched to Atocha’s manifest and in 1975, a few matching bronze cannons were found. By the 1980s, a large portion of the remains of Santa Margarita was found along with some treasures, securing belief that the hunt was nearing its completion.
However, it was not until five years later that Mel Fisher and his men would stumble upon the Atocha. Within the remains lay gold, silver, jewelry, and gems of all sortss. Fisher’s cache, known as “The Atocha Motherload” was estimated around $450 million and after a few arguments with the state of Florida, the Supreme Court announced that Fisher was indeed the owner.
Today, visitors can view many of the treasures that Mel and his team found at the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society and Museum in Key West, Florida. Bars of gold, bricks of silver, Spanish coins, jewelry and gems fill the museum, all dating back to the 1500s. The museum is also home to the treasures of Mel Fisher’s other important treasures and finds, including goods from the Henrietta Marie and St. John’s wreck. Despite having found 450 million worth of treasure, hunters estimate that this is only half of the Atocha treasure. The rest remains beneath the ocean.
Some of Mel’s treasures can also be found at the Treasures of the Sea exhibit at the the Delaware Technical and Community College.
