Skip to main content
Tags: sunken | treasure | vero beach | divers | gold | coins

Sunken Treasure in Vero Beach: Divers Find $4.5M Worth of Gold Coins

Sunken Treasure in Vero Beach: Divers Find $4.5M Worth of Gold Coins
(1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels, LLC/Facebook)

By    |   Friday, 21 August 2015 08:42 AM EDT

Divers in shallow water at Florida’s Vero Beach recently found $4.5 million worth of sunken treasure in the form of gold coins dating back 300 years to King Phillip of Spain.

Brent Brisben, captain of the S/V Capitana, and his crew found 350 gold coins that were part of a 1715 maritime disaster in which 11 Spanish ships were lost during a hurricane, Florida Today reported. More than 1,000 people died.

"Nine of the coins found are known as Royals and valued at $300,000 apiece; These were specially made for the king of Spain, Phillip V, in the early 1700s," the website said.

"People love treasure stories. It resonates with everybody — every demographic, young and old, rich and poor," Brisben told Florida Today. "People freak out that we're literally 10-15 feet off the beach in 2-3 feet of water."


"For a treasure diver such as myself, a find like this is the equivalent of winning an Olympic gold medal," diver William Bartlett, who recovered the coins, told Florida Today in an email. "This is what [treasure hunters of the 1715 Fleet] all come here to do. For four months out of the year we eat, sleep and live treasure. When we're not actually treasure hunting, we're usually talking about treasure hunting. We hang out with other treasure hunters."

Renowned marine archaeologist Dr. E. Lee Spence, who said he worked on the site of the 1715 shipwrecks in the 1960s, posted on Facebook about the discovery: "I just hope people will finally understand. There is really treasure out there, even on this shipwreck which was found and salvage started immediately after its loss and again in the 1960s with scuba gear. I am absolutely convinced the best finds on this and many other wrecks are yet to come."

In the months before this announcement, subcontractors for Brisben’s business, 1715 Fleet — Queens Jewels LLC, found a $1 million haul of gold coins near Fort Pierce.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


TheWire
Divers in shallow water at Florida’s Vero Beach recently found $4.5 million worth of sunken treasure in the form of gold coins dating back 300 years to King Phillip of Spain.
sunken, treasure, vero beach, divers, gold, coins
351
2015-42-21
Friday, 21 August 2015 08:42 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved