VERO BEACH — The Treasure Coast is living up to its name, with a record-breaking discovery of over 1,000 silver and gold coins from the 1715 Treasure Fleet. The salvage operation, led by Captain Levin Shavers and the crew of the M/V Just Right, marked one of the largest finds in recent memory, and has reignited interest in the area’s rich maritime history.
"It was his first season with his own boat, but not his first season working the wrecks. He's had successes before, but never like this," said Sal Gattuso, Director of Operations for Queens Jewels, LLC, which holds the exclusive salvage rights to the 1715 Fleet.
The coins recovered include over 1,000 silver Reales (pieces of eight), along with five rare gold Escudos and other gold artifacts. These discoveries date back to the late 1600s through 1715, the year the fleet sank off the coast of Florida in a deadly hurricane. The fleet was carrying a vast fortune—an estimated $400 million worth of gold, silver, and jewels—when disaster struck.
"In some days, they literally found hundreds of these coins," Gattuso said. "The last time this volume of discovery was made on these shipwrecks was 1990. An average season might yield a few hundred coins, but nothing like this."
The haul is worth approximately $1 million, but for Gattuso and his team, the mission isn't about the money.
“The whole shipwreck thing represents a time capsule,” Gattuso said. “When you get a singular find, like 1,000-plus coins, you can imagine the educational value that can come from that once these coins are properly conserved and identified.”
Despite being buried beneath sand and sea for centuries, many of the coins have been well-preserved. Some still bear visible mint marks and dates from the Spanish colonies of Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia. Gattuso noted that the coins are in remarkably good condition for their age.
“If you see the pictures of the pre-conservation coins, the untrained eye wouldn’t recognize them as silver coins,” he said. “They have a brownish-green look due to their copper content, but we can still make out a lot of detail. After conservation, they almost retain their full weight, which means they’ve suffered very little corrosion.”
These coins are not just valuable for their monetary worth, but for the stories they tell about life during the Golden Age of the Spanish Empire. The 1715 Fleet’s loss remains one of the most significant maritime events in history, and each new discovery adds another chapter to that story.
“This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells,” Gattuso said in a release. “Each coin is a piece of history, a tangible link to the people who lived, worked, and sailed back then.”
The recovered coins will eventually be dispersed for preservation, with some going to the state of Florida, others to the finders, and some to the company. Many will be put on display at local museums, including the Mel Fisher Treasures Museum in Sebastian, the McLarty Museum in Indian River County, and the Indian River Historical Society Museum in Fort Pierce.
“Eventually, these coins will be dispersed. Some will go to the state of Florida, some will go to the finders, and some will go to the owners of the company,” Gattuso said. “There’s a very nice display of 1715 fleet coins and artifacts, and some of these coins will end up at those museums.”
The 1715 Fleet wreck site, located off the coast of Vero Beach, remains a focal point for maritime archaeology, and modern salvage operations continue under strict state oversight. The recovery season typically runs from April to September, with the best conditions for salvage usually found in July before hurricane season begins.
Salvage work is done with the goal of preserving the artifacts and shedding light on Florida’s rich maritime history.
“Every find helps piece together the human story of the 1715 fleet,” Gattuso said in a release. “We’re committed to preserving and studying these artifacts so future generations can appreciate their historical significance.”