Mel Fisher - the most famous and successful American treasure hunter - dreamed of getting all the gold and silver that has been buried under the water and sand off the coast of Florida for many centuries. 
After discovering and lifting part of the cargo of a Spanish caravan that sank east of Florida in 1715 in the early 1960s, Fischer's appetite kicked in and he set out to find a new object - the legendary Atocha galleon. Atocha's cargo consisted of gold and silver (tons of precious metal were recorded in its cargo manifest), and how many unregistered, hidden treasures and works of art could be on board! 
Spain's economy suffered severe damage when the Atocha - among the other ships of the 1622 caravan - was sunk by a hurricane shortly after leaving Havana for Spain. Atocha sank at a depth of 15 meters with 250 passengers and crew on board. Although the location of the galleon was known, rescue efforts in the immediate aftermath of the disaster were hampered by bad weather, and the ensuing storm swept the remains of the galleon along the ocean floor for miles. The famous saga of Atocha and the rest of the caravan was properly described, but later forgotten and disappeared into the Archives of the Two Indies in Seville, Spain. And so, centuries later, Mel Fisher appeared, eager to find the Atocha galleon and its treasures. After working in the Spanish archives, the search area for Fisher and his team stretched over an area of \u200b\u200bmore than 10 kilometers south of Florida and the island of Key West. Skeptics laughed at Fischer, who managed only from time to time to find a few gold and silver coins, but he continued to work and finally found the place of the last refuge of "Atocha". 
The search for treasure was interspersed with litigation: the Florida administration defended the ownership of the finds. Finally, an agreement was reached that the state would own 20 percent of everything that Fischer and his team would find. 
The key to Fischer's success in treasure hunting was his invention, dubbed the "mailbox." He used it on the 1715 treasure expedition. This device is a huge unit in the shape of the Latin letter "L", which is lowered from the stern of the search vessel in order to direct the streams of water from the propeller vertically downward. If the depth is shallow, a powerful stream of water will clear the seabed of silt, sand, and anything else that might hide sunken treasures. Search vessels comb the bottom with highly sensitive metal detectors and magnetometers, and when a sufficiently clear signal is recorded, the "mailboxes" lowered on the anchor chains begin to work. With a terrible roar, the "boxes" punch holes in the ocean floor, where scuba divers then descend in the hope of seeing a dull shimmer of gold or corals strewn with silver coins ... It is an amazing feeling to see pure gold, to hold it in your hands, knowing that the last one to touched him - found his grave in the sea centuries ago. Or try on an emerald ring on your finger. Or blow out the aching notes from the golden boatswain's whistle, which was last heard on the deck of the Atocha ... 
Mel Fisher discovered the treasure on July 20, 1985. The main grave of "Atocha" kept more than 200 gold and more than 1100 silver bars (weighing from 15 to 37 kilograms each). And also jewelry - gold rings, chains, pendants, emerald brooches and an amazingly beautiful cross decorated with emeralds. The fascinating results of Mel Fisher's long pursuit of sea treasures can be seen in his Museum in Key West, where many of the gold and silver treasures saved from timelessness now lie in exquisite display cases. 
As for Mel Fisher and his team, they are ready to continue the search (there is still something to “profit from” at Atocha), if not for the position of the US federal authorities. Under the auspices of NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) are the capes of Florida and the islands closest to it - Dry Tortugas and Marquesas Keys (2800 square miles), officially declared a Federal Reserve, that is, they are a no-go zone for treasure hunters, especially those equipped with "mailboxes ". While waiting for lawyers and judges to settle all matters, Fischer returned to his first find: the remains of a 1715 caravan treasure. Rumor has it that the main cargo of the caravan has not yet been found, and Mel Fisher has every chance of becoming its discoverer. 
A gigantic hull made of stone-strong Manila oak, three masts, tall as a church tower, carved stern, forty heavy cannons, four hundred desperate thugs aboard, and a hold filled with gold — such were the Spanish galleons. In the 17th century, they left Cadiz and went through Havana and Veracruz to the Philippines, and from there returned to Spain.
With the money that one ship transported, it was possible to maintain a small army. But the floating safes were characterized by poor maneuverability - the galleons died one after another. The entire coastal area of \u200b\u200bCalifornia is strewn with shipwrecks and gold coins, millions of dollars lie at the bottom of the sea - after all, one royal escudo is now worth about seventy thousand! But getting close to them is not easy: the anchors and frames are overgrown with corals, the silt has deeply sucked in gold and diamonds. In order to raise a thousand dollars to the surface, you need to spend ten thousand: many treasure hunters drowned their fortunes in the sea, not one of them lost their lives to the passion for Spanish gold.
Half a century ago, Mel Fisher was poor, unknown and full of hope: he willingly took on everything that could bring money, and put his whole soul into every new business.
In the early thirties, Indiana was rich in enthusiasts. Mel, a cheeky kid from a small backwater town, kept inventing something - a diving helmet made from an old saucepan, a garden hose and a bicycle pump still flaunts on the shelf in the admiral's cabin of his galleon. He worked on his father's farm and played the trumpet in a local orchestra, then studied engineering at the University of Alabama, and during World War II, Fischer's unit followed the troops and rebuilt roads and bridges. After the war, he moved to California and began raising chickens. Here a hobby was born, which became the work of his whole life.
The sea was very close, and Mel opened a small shop of diving equipment at his farm: he both sold it and rented it. The daughter of the owner of a neighboring farm, red-haired and funny Dolores, took scuba diving lessons from him - a few months later it ended in a wedding. Soon the Fishers sold out all their chicken stock - the underwater world was much more interesting and brought quite good money. Mel and Dolores gave scuba diving lessons, made films about marine life and gradually became infected with a passion for treasure hunting: untold treasures lay very close - a man with a scuba diving could touch them with his hand.
In 1612, a storm scattered and smashed the "Silver Fleet" on the coastal cliffs - after that Spain had nothing to support the army. In 1715, a convoy carrying gold and emeralds went to the bottom - in order to fill its holds, the Potosi gold miners and the Indians driven into the emerald mines of Colombia worked for about a year. The storm did not spare anyone: the admiral who commanded the Nuestra Senora de Atocha galleon gathered his officers, discussed with them the last sonnet of Lope de Vega, read a prayer and drowned, not shaming the dignity of the Castilian hidalgo. The exact coordinates of the shipwreck have not been preserved. Mel had to find a needle in a haystack - with money taken on credit, and all the time being under the watchful eye of the state authorities, ready to confiscate any valuable find. He didn't stand a chance, but he was Mel Fisher ...
To draw attention to the search, his wife set a world record for a woman's stay under water: Dolores sat in a bathyscaphe for 55 hours, drank juice, ate bananas and read damp newspapers. And it was no longer about money - they were both ready to break into a cake for the sake of their dreams. Even seasoned divers succumbed to Fischer's pressure. The Silver Fleet was now being looked for by a team of enthusiasts, and Mel developed a number of clever tricks for investors. He invited each of them to take part in the search - he gave an aqualung and a metal detector, and then sent it to where he carefully dug two or three gold coins the day before. The lucky man was happily greeted on the shore, in the evening by the fire the whole team drank to his health, treating him to lobsters and lobsters fried in the open air ... And the bankers who lent money to Mal (no one could do this before Fisher) quickly became his adherents.
The search for treasures has been going on for over 20 years. A huge Spanish anchor, a few gold coins, a piece of gold chain, a pair of pistols mounted in silver - the chance finds awakened the imagination, but unpaid bills grew by leaps and bounds. For many years, luck drove Fischer by the nose: before giving up his treasures, the sea demanded a sacrifice from him ...
Best of the day
In 1975, a wave overturned the boat, which was carrying Mel's eldest son Dirk, his wife Angela and two divers. Everyone died: the storm came unexpectedly, and the treasure hunters did not have time to put on life jackets. Those who managed to stay on the water were smashed by the waves on the coastal rocks ...
After the death of his son, Fisher changed beyond recognition. Previously, he was a great optimist and greeted every new morning with the phrase: "Catch today!" Now Mel turned grim and seemed to stubbornly seek death. He crossed the lagoon teeming with sharks by swimming, went out into the stormy sea on a fragile boat. Once the boat capsized, and it was saved only by chance: a man was noticed from a dry cargo ship passing by. By that time, Mel had been on the open sea for several hours ... He seemed to be challenging the elements, and she, testing him for strength, finally yielded.
One fine day, Greg Warham, a diver from Fischer's team, found a scattering of silver bars marked with the sign of the Spanish crown - "Nuestra Senora de Atocha" revealed to Mel the contents of her holds. And soon the divers discovered a large underwater rock, in front of which a metal detector squeaked bustlingly: under a pile of silt lay several thousand large silver bars and three thousand boxes with gold coins.
A truly fantastic picture was revealed to the treasure hunters: at the bottom among algae and corals, under lazily swimming colorful fish, there was a carpet of golden doubloons, each of which cost no less than ten thousand. Fischer washed out the silt with the help of a device he invented, which resembled a giant vacuum cleaner: a large pipe descended downward, sucking in bottom sediments. When the compressor was turned off, the scuba diver who was on duty at the work site gasped: a rain of emeralds and amethysts poured on him, precious stones iridescent in sea water slowly circled and sank to the bottom - there were several thousand of them ...
Nuestra Senora de Atocha carried precious stones for the Spanish king, but most of the emeralds in the galleon's holds were smuggled. Giant diamond earrings, the weight of which no woman's ear could support, were made specifically to shelter the stones from taxation.
Every day he brought more new finds, and divers took pictures on small underwater reefs that turned out to be heaps of silver ... Twenty percent of what was found was received by the state, twenty - by investors, the rest went to Mel Fisher himself.
Since then, his luck has not left him. He found an equally rich galleon "Santa Margarita", then a caravel of conquistadors: bombards, rusted helmets, bronze compasses and halberd tips were lifted from it. Fisher became a legend of the entire California coast and during his lifetime entered the history of underwater archeology - no one else has such a number of fantastic finds.
Those who write about Fischer consider him lucky.But people who know Mel closely prefer not to talk about this topic - until his death, which followed in December 1998, he could not forgive himself for not stopping the one who went to sea Dirk and did not remind him of the storm warning ...
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Museum Information
| The address: | 200 Greene Street, Key West, Florida 33040 | |
| Telephone | +1 305-294-2633 | |
| Working hours | Monday - Friday: 08:30 - 17:00 Weekends and holidays: 09:30 - 17:00 |
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| Ticket price | Adults 12+: $ 15.00 Students 18+: $ 12.00 Children under 12: $ 5.00 |
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| Official site | www.melfisher.org |
What awaits guests at the museum? Key West Island is a real bonanza for treasure hunters. Do you want to touch the age-old secrets and feel the breath of history? Head to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum.
The famous treasure hunter
In the museum, guests are greeted by a photo of a successful treasure hunter, hung with gold chains with a gold bowl in his hands. Who was Mel Fisher in life? Diver, WWII veteran, carpenter, engineer, musician, inventor, treasure hunter. The guide will tell you about Mel Fisher, his passionate desire and how it affected his life. The death of loved ones, financial difficulties, temporary delays and litigation with justice - such a difficult path was passed by the famous treasure hunter, who independently comprehended diving, studied historical documents and invented equipment in the hope of finding the treasures of Spanish galleons.
The place where the largest treasure is stored
Florida's narrow straits and bays pose a challenge for sailors. Here the route of the Spanish treasure convoys passed, and after several centuries pirates hunted. Sunken ships have found eternal shelter in the coastal waters. The Spanish ship Nuestra Senora de Atocha brought Mel Fischer world fame and untold riches. This is the most famous galleon that carried countless treasures and sank during a violent storm. According to historical records, the crash site was located near Key West. It took Mel Fisher's team more than 10 years to find the treasure. The treasure he raised from the bottom of the sea is estimated at half a billion dollars.
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum is a non-profit organization. It has accumulated information on the maritime and colonial history of the New World. The museum's collection consists of objects that Fischer's expedition found during many years of searching.
At the entrance to the museum there are real anchors from the Spanish ships Atocha and Margarita. Guests are greeted by a 15-minute film about the life of the famous treasure hunter and his search.
Gold and Silver Chests
Gold chests, emeralds, jewelry - everything that the imagination of a treasure hunter draws is presented in the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. On a plot of 600 square meters, there are about 100 thousand exhibits. The collection includes gold, silver, cutlery, trade goods, ceramics, wood, seeds, ivory, leather. Noble metals do not corrode, time has no power over them. Visitors to the museum can see how the ingots of gold and silver look like, which have lain in the water for 4 centuries. Under the glass are fragments of fossils with imprinted silver coins.
A 3.5 kilogram gold chain, real silver reals, gold doubloons, a large gold cross inlaid with Colombian emeralds, which are considered the most expensive in the world, are the most famous exhibits of the museum. There is also smuggled gold, which was not listed in archival documents.
The museum's jewelry store sells jewelry and originals of coins from the famous Atocha hoard.
Archaeologists, divers and historians
In the museum, guests will look into the holy of holies of archaeologists - a laboratory with huge reservoirs where artifacts are stored. Here they are engaged in the preservation and restoration of marine finds. Four centuries under a layer of salty sea water affect any objects in an unpredictable way. The treasure must be raised from the depths of the sea and kept from destruction. The specialists have done a great job to preserve the wealth conquered from the sea. In the laboratory, special treatment is carried out to prevent destruction, keep objects in their current state and stop deterioration in the future. The procedures take from several hours to several years.
Archaeologists' work includes analysis, record keeping, and long term care. Museum employees use special sensors to control, regulate and maintain temperature, light, humidity in storages and galleries in order to increase the durability of exhibits.
5 Treasure Hunting Rules from Mel Fisher
It took more than 10 years to find the treasure. During this time, Mel Fisher developed 5 rules for treasure hunters.
- The search for the treasure begins with the study of archival documents. A team worked for Fischer that analyzed trade reports, port books.
- Luck smiles at the prepared. It is impossible to find the treasure without equipment.
- Knowledge of the legal intricacies will allow you to keep the treasure. There are always a lot of people around who want to appropriate the treasure on the basis of territorial characteristics.
- All treasure hunting operations, from archival stages to sea dives, are best kept secret, provided with a believable legend.
- Real treasure hunters do not waste their time on trifles and are superstitious. The treasure rarely brings good luck, taking away health and the life of loved ones in return.
Storms and waves have scattered the treasures of lost ships along the Florida coast, so new generations of divers come to try their luck. Novice treasure hunters should trust Mel Fisher, whose whole life is proof of the rules.
Treasure hunters, future wizards and ordinary tourists
The museum will be interesting for both adults and children. Within the walls of the museum are:
- video shows with fragments of exploration searches;
- presentations of artifacts;
- photo exhibitions about Mel Fisher's travels;
- stories of employees of the museum of archeology about the history of the fleet;
- open-air tasting evenings;
- festivals of the African diaspora.
The Mel Fischer Maritime Museum hosts interesting exhibitions with artifacts. For example, all future wizards will be interested in the World of Harry Potter exhibition. The exhibits introduce the facts of alchemy, astrology, which became the basis for writing the famous bestseller Joan Rolling. The exhibition showcases medical instruments, navigation devices from the Middle Ages, a bowl of antidotes, religious objects and jewelry made of precious metals.
In addition to informational, scientific and educational work, the museum accepts artifacts found by treasure hunters. The museum's website features an extensive collection of artifacts, contemporary documents, prints and maps.
SPANISH GALEON "NUESTRA SENORA DE ATOCHA"The vessel was built and launched in Havana in 1620.
After commissioning, the ship entered the Royal Spanish Navy.
Displacement - 550 tons. It is 112 feet long and 34 feet wide. Length between perpendiculars is 112 feet.
The midship width is 34 feet. Travel speed - 8 knots. Crew - 133 officers and sailors. Armament - 20 guns.The ship was named after one of the chapels of the Catholic Cathedral in Madrid.
THE HISTORY OF THE GALEON WRECK "NUESTRA SENORA DE ATOCHA"
In the summer of 1622, everything was as usual. The Spanish fleet safely crossed the ocean and divided into several detachments.
Seven galleons guarding the convoy, including the Santa Margarita, remained in Porto Domingo, Haiti. Another detachment, led by the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, sailed for the Isthmus of Panama and dropped anchor in Portobello harbor on 24 May.Sixteen of the smaller ships set out for loading at various Caribbean ports, while a third troop of galleons moved towards Cartagena, Colombia.
Here the ships took on board a large cargo of gold and silver and on July 21, 1622, they met with the second detachment in Portobello. On July 27, the galleons raised anchors and headed for Cuba. By August 22, the entire flotilla was assembled in the Havana port. The so-called "New Spain fleet" came here from the coast of Mexico, delivering a cargo of Mexican silver to Havana.The Spanish admirals were alarmed: rumors reached Havana that a large Dutch fleet had appeared in the waters of the Caribbean.
The commander of the "New Spain fleet" asked the chief chief, the Marquis Cardereite, to allow him to go immediately to Spain.
The Marquis gave such permission, but on condition that most of the ingots and coins remain in Havana: they will be loaded onto galleons, and thus the treasures will be under more reliable protection.The New Spain Fleet left, and the Marquis of Carderate remained in Havana, awaiting the arrival of the last ships.
Soon the entire flotilla was present, and on the morning of September 4, 28 heavily loaded ships lined up in the Havana roadstead, preparing to set sail.The Marquis of Carderate raised his flag on the lead ship, Captain Nuestra Senora Candelaria's galleon.
The bulk of the Mexican silver and gold was loaded onto the Santa Margarita and Nuestra Senora de Atocha galleons.The Nuestra Senora de Atocha itself was loaded with 24 tons of silver, 180,000 pesos of silver coins, 582 copper bars, 125 gold bars and discs, 350 indigo boxes, 525 bales of tobacco, 20 bronze cannons and 1200 pounds of silverware and ware.
Add to this unregistered goods to avoid duty, as well as personal items and jewelry!
All of this constituted a treasure that no other ever carried by sea could compete. Armed with 20 huge bronze cannons, the Atocha marched as the trailing galleon, following in the tail of the slow merchant ships.On each ship of the squadron, in addition to the team, there were guard soldiers and passengers, as well as all the necessary things and provisions for a successful journey. The heavily armed Nuestra Senora de Atocha led the rear to guard the flotilla from any attack from behind.
The next day, September 5, the weather turned bad, the sky was covered with clouds and by the middle of the day a strong storm broke out. Huge shafts were rolling along the sea, the marsh, through the veil of rain, could hardly make out the ships in front. Waves tossed the hulking galleons from side to side like wood chips. In front of the entire crew and passengers of the Atocha, the Nuestra Senora de Consolacion, leading in front, unexpectedly capsized and sank ...
At night, the wind changed direction and carried the Spanish fleet north to the coast of Florida.
Before dawn, the Candelaria and 20 other ships of the convoy passed the western coast of the Dry Torgugas Islands. Four ships, breaking away from the main group, including the Atocha and Santa Margarita, the storm threw east, to the chain of islands of the Florida Keys.Dawn found them near some low coral atoll overgrown with mangrove trees.
Huge waves of 5 meters in height, like a toy, threw the "Santa Margarita" across the coral reef. From the Margarita, Captain Don Bernardino Lugo watched desperately as the Atocha crew fought to save the ship.For Nuestra Senora De Atocha, the position was even worse.
As soon as the storm began, the ship lost its sails, resulting in loss of control of the ship. The sailors began to nail up the main hatches, but part of the crew was already overboard. Galleon was thrown over the waves like a matchbox. The sailors dropped anchor, hoping to catch on to the reef, but a huge wave lifted the ship and threw it onto the reef. The hurricane hit the galleon on one of the rocks. As a result, the bow broke and the mainmast collapsed. At the same moment, another wave lifted the wrecked ship from the reef and carried it further into the depths. The ship's crew did not have a single chance. Water poured into the holes, and "Atocha" went to the bottom. Atocha sank with 265 people on board. And only five - three sailors and two slaves - survived the shipwreck. They were saved thanks to the fragment of the mizzen mast, to which they held on all the time. They were picked up only the next morning by the ship "Santa Cruz".Rescuers from the ships that approached the site of the tragedy tried to get into the holds of the ship, but the hatches were tightly battened down.
The depth of 55 feet was not very deep, but the divers were never able to open the gratings and make their way to Atocha. After futile attempts to save people or cargo, they went to the aid of other sunken ships.The hurricane that destroyed the ships caused great disaster for the Spaniards. 550 people died, and a priceless cargo worth more than two million pesos was lost.
For comparison, for the entire period 1503-1660, Spain exported precious metals from America in the amount of 448 million pesos, that is, about 2.8 million pesos per year. Thus, it was about the loss of almost all of the kingdom's annual income!SEARCHING FOR TREASURES BY THE SPANIIS
The death of the "golden galleons" in 1622 was a real disaster for the royal treasury.
After this major shipwreck, Spain fell into dire financial straits for several years. At that time, Spain participated in many European wars, and the king of Spain Philip V constantly needed to replenish his treasury, he needed to provide everything necessary for a huge army, and Spain's own resources were no longer enough for this. Therefore, burdened with hardships, the king sent the fleet to the shores of the New World. The ships were supposed to bring back the much-needed gold. In addition to this, the king had another goal. It turned out that Elizabeth the Duchess of Parma was as smart and cunning as she was beautiful. She refused to marry the king until he collected the most beautiful jewels in the world.The sinking site of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha was approximately 56 kilometers west of Key West.
And in the first days after the crash, the location was easy to determine by the masts sticking out of the water. However, already on October 5, when Captain Gaspard de Vargas, at the head of a team of slave divers and Indian pearl divers, arrived at the crash site and the Spaniards made the first attempt to raise valuables from the bottom, storms scattered the remnants of the masts and it was almost impossible to find the exact crash site. Then they could only determine the crash site of only the second galleon with the treasures of "Santa Margarita".After several months of grueling work, only a few pieces of Atocha's skin were found and nothing else.
Divers could only work for a short time at shallow depths, and Gaspar Vargas was unable to move huge amounts of moving sand from place to place.In February 1623, the Marquis of Carderate himself joined the search for Atocha and Margarita.
He understood the rage that would cause in Madrid the news of the loss of all the annual production of the Mexican silver mines and what awaited him in this regard. At the cost of great efforts, several silver ingots were raised from the bottom, but where the hulls of both dead ships disappeared remains a mystery. In August 1623, the fruitless search was terminated. Carderate and Vargas returned to Spain. Before their departure, the geographer Nicholas Cardona drew a detailed map of the shipwreck area.In 1625 the Spaniards made a second attempt to raise the Nuestra Senora de Atocha and Santa Margarita from the bottom of the treasures.
A search party led by Captain Francisco Nunez Melian arrived at the crash site and armed with a copper air bell weighing 680 pounds (Melian's invention), managed to extract from the water a total of 380 silver bars and 67 thousand silver coins from the Santa Margarita, however no traces of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha galleon were found. For his services, Melian was appointed governor of Venezuela.Further search work was carried out until 1641, but did not bring success.
The search for the crash site of the galleons was stopped for many centuries, and information about the catastrophe remained only in the Spanish royal archives.
The events of subsequent years marked the decline of the former power of Spain. The Dutch, the British, the French gradually ousted it from the leading positions in Europe and took control of a number of the former Caribbean possessions of Spain. In 1817, Florida was bought by the United States of America. The mystery of the missing treasures of "Atocha" and many other "golden galleons" was forgotten for many years.SEARCHING FOR GALEON'S TREASURES BY MEL FISHER
Born in the Midwest, Mel Fisher graduated from technical college and settled in California, where he opened a scuba diving school and diving equipment store. But this business, while lucrative, could not satisfy Mel's romantic nature, hungry for adventure. To begin with, he took part in an underwater expedition that went to the coast of Central America in search of treasures. This expedition was not crowned with much success, but determined the further fate of Fischer - he decided to devote himself to the search for underwater treasures.
A strange coincidence, but Mel Fisher was born on the day of the death of "Nuestra Senora De Atocha" - September 6, only almost 300 years after her death ...
In 1963, Fischer sold his California property and moved to the East Coast with his wife Dolores and four sons. With the proceeds he founded Tragers Salvors Incorporated, headquartered in Key West on the southern tip of the Florida Keys. His companion was Kip Wagner, an obsessive romantic like Fischer.
Thus, by the time the search for the Nuestra Senora De Atocha galleon began, Mel Fisher had already made several major successes in his search for the treasures of Spanish galleons off the coast of Florida. So, in 1963, Mel Fisher and his team found values \u200b\u200bfrom a Spanish ship that sank near the Florida Peninsula. The valuables raised from the day of the sea drew several million dollars.
In May 1964, a real carpet of jewels was unveiled near Fort Pierce. Gold and silver coins littered the bottom.
In two days, Fischer raised 1,933 gold doubloons. In total, this season, rescuers have collected 2,500 doubloons, which cost a fortune.For over a year Tragers Salvors has been working near Fort Pierce.
When the stream of coins coming from the bottom turned into a pitiful trickle, the rescuers left the happy place, not without regret, but did not calm down. Mel Fischer's attention was drawn to the fate of another Spanish galleon, Nuestra Senora De Atocha.Mel Fisher and his team began their 16-year quest for the treasure of the Atocha galleon in 1969.
The historian Eugene Lyons came to their aid and did a tremendous job in the Spanish archives to find out at least an approximate area of \u200b\u200bthe search. He thoroughly studied the famous General Archives of India in Seville - a real treasure trove. Forty thousand bundles of ancient documents, a million storage units tell in great detail about the history of the discovery and development of the New World by the Spaniards, about their 400-year colonial rule over vast territories overseas.But finding the galleon's treasure was more difficult than they bargained for.
The sand became the main obstacle. The flat bottom covered with it would be ideal if it was a question of searching for the skeletons of sunken galleons.
But over the centuries, storms and storms have scattered their debris without a trace. Therefore, the divers decided to rely on the values \u200b\u200bthat were on the Spanish ships. And then an unpleasant surprise awaited them: it was almost impossible to get to the solid bottom, where heavy objects could lie. A thick layer of moving sand covered the trenches that had been dug during the day during the night.In order to find the sunken galleon, Mel Fisher used a number of technically innovative solutions.
For example, he used "mailboxes" invented by himself - curved cylinders, which were attached under the propellers of the boat and directed the stream of water vertically downward. With such a water cannon, a hole thirty feet wide and ten feet deep was washed out in the sand in ten minutes. Where the layer of sand was thinner, the "mailbox", like a giant broom, swept it from the selected area of \u200b\u200bthe bottom.
After inspecting it, the boat moved a little further, and the operation was repeated.Fischer even risked additional, very significant expenses, ordering images of the search area from space, equipment for molecular analysis of water samples, and even thought about purchasing dolphins to train them to find gold and silver objects at the bottom. After completing all the preparatory work in 1970, Mel Fisher and his team arrived at the crash site of the Atocha and Santa Margarita. So, by the summer of 1971, the size of the surveyed area was 120 thousand square miles.
The 1972 season brought nothing new. With the arrival of the next spring, scuba divers resumed their search.
First, silver coins flowed in a thin trickle, then this trickle turned into a stream, and finally, the divers discovered whole deposits of silver. There were so many coins that the search engines jokingly dubbed this place the "Spanish Bank".On the morning of July 4, Fisher's youngest son, 14-year-old Kane, saw a strange object at the bottom, similar, in his words, to a "loaf of bread."
It turned out to be an ingot of silver on which stood the numbers 569. The historian Eugene Lyons, accompanying the expedition, took up copies of documents from the Seville archives: in the cargo manifest of Atocha there was indeed an ingot with that number! His weight was also indicated there - 28 kilograms.
This is exactly how much the find weighed. So, everything fell into place: "Atocha" was found!The search for the treasure of the Spanish ship was difficult, both morally and financially. A breakthrough in search occurred only in the summer of 1972. Using special equipment and magnetometers, Mel Fisher and his team spent many years following the subtle trail of a shipwreck - sometimes not finding anything for months, finally finding some treasure and artifacts that said the ship was somewhere nearby.
One day, Dirk Fischer emerged to the surface, clutching a round object in his hands.
It was a navigational astrolabe that had lain at the bottom for several centuries. Nevertheless, it was so well preserved that it could well be used even now. Subsequent research showed that the astrolabe was made in Lessabon by a certain Lopu Omen around 1560. The next day, the scuba divers lifted two gold bars and a four and a half pound gold disc. And on July 4, diver Bluff McHaley, who was exploring the edges of the Spanish Bank, came across a small rosary of coral and gold.Brands and stamps on the silver ingots of the Atocha galleon.
Relatively recently, on July 4, 2011, it became known about several more new finds.
We are talking about a 10-carat gold ring with an emerald, which was estimated at 500 thousand dollars.In addition to the ancient jewelry, two silver spoons and two more silver artifacts were also found. They were discovered 56 km west of Key West, part of the Florida Keys in the southeastern United States. According to Sean Fisher, a Mel Fisher's Treasures executive who was present when the ring was discovered, it is one of the most important artifacts found in the area of \u200b\u200bthe shipwreck. This ring most likely belonged to one of the aristocrats who sailed on the Atocha, Fischer added.
Gold of the Atocha galleon from the Mel Fisher Museum.
In 1999, Melvin Fisher, the man who holds the unofficial title of "king of treasure hunters", died.
The find made off the southern coast of Florida brought him worldwide fame. Near the city of Key West, he lifted from the bottom the precious cargo of the Spanish galleon "Atocha", which swooped down on the reefs in 1622. It was not just a most valuable find, the cost of which amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars - it was a dream come true for treasure hunters about an old ship overloaded with gold and jewelry.
Treasure Quest magazine calls Fisher "the champion who has won all battles with the authorities, officials and other enemies of the treasure hunters."
And it all started like this ... A man named Fisher ("Fisherman")decided to live up to his name. He was already forty years old, the family had four sons, but he abandoned everything when he heard about an accidental find: in 1963, the builder Kip Wagner picked up a Spanish silver coin on the coast of Florida. Wagner was not too lazy to send a request to the General Archives of the Indies and found out that in 1715 the Golden Fleet almost completely sank in these places. The rescue expedition of the Spaniards was unable to pick up precious jewelry scattered along the bottom, sixty thousand coins, ingots of gold and silver. Fischer proposed to Wagner to organize a company to develop the ash-bearing bottom.
The main problem was to clear the bottom. Fischer invented a special device: a curved cylinder placed under the propellers directed the water vertically downward, washing away the sediment with a powerful jet. This device was then called - "mailbox". Over the course of a year, Fischer and Wagner collected 2,500 doubloons, among which were the extremely rare coins of 1702, which collectors bought for twenty-five thousand dollars each.
In 1970, Fischer chose his life goal: Nuestra Senora de Atocha. This finest flagship of the Golden Fleet left the port of Havana on September 4, 1622. On board the "Atocha" was forty-seven tons of gold and silver. The storm destroyed "Atocha" and along with it seven more ships, the most promising of which was considered "Saint Margaret".
Four years later, the Spaniards sent a rescue expedition.Captain Francisco Nunez Melian found the Saint Margaret and raised three hundred and fifty silver bars. Everything else was still at the bottom. Divers tried to find Atocha more than once, but they were confused by the change in geographical designations: in the 17th century the Spaniards called the island of Matekumbe not the modern Matekumba, but the southern tip of Florida. After learning from the professor-historian Eugene Lyons that the most likely place for the death of the Spanish fleet was the Marquesas Islands, located near Florida, Fisher focused his searches in this area. He used the now modern technology, including, among other things, atomic analysis of water and imaging from space. Nevertheless, in the first years, only muskets and sabers were able to get from the bottom, only in 1973 silver coins were sent, and on July 4, on Independence Day, the first ingot appeared. The registration number stamped on it corresponded to the inventory of Atocha's cargo kept in the General Archives of the Indies.
But then luck turned away from the enterprising Rybolov.On the night of July 20, 1975, a tug that belonged to him sank, and Fischer's son Dirk, Dirk's wife Angel, and one of his crew members drowned with it. It is not excluded that there was sabotage by competitors.
Millions borrowed and spent on searches did not pay off. Mel was on the verge of bankruptcy. The sea took away his loved ones and gave nothing in return. And yet, despite his troubles, he held out to the last. In 1980, the treasure hunter finally got lucky. With the help of a magnetometer, an anchor was found, by which it was possible to unmistakably identify the ship: it was not yet Atocha, but Saint Margarita, but the values \u200b\u200blifted from this ship provided another five years of search.
In the spring of 1985, divers began to bring hoops from the barrels in which the Atocha's cargo was once stored, and then the first valuables: sixteen brooches with emeralds, several gold bars, more than four hundred silver doubloons.
On July 20, day after day, ten years after Dirk's death, Atocha revealed its cherished secret. Two divers, Andy Matroski and Greg Wareham, stumbled upon an underwater rock overgrown with algae at a depth of eighteen meters. Instruments prompted: "rock" consists entirely of silver ingots. The Spanish flagship returned the treasures that had lain at the bottom for a quarter of a millennium: 3,200 emeralds, 150,000 silver coins and 1,000 forty-kilogram silver bars.Fischer's production, according to the most conservative estimates, is four hundred million dollars.