Silver coins from 1715 shipwreck uncovered by treasure hunters off Florida's east coast

WA - Armed with metal detectors and deep historical knowledge of Spanish fleet routes, Jonah Martinez and his crew of Capitana Treasure Hunters spend a lot of time searching the beaches of Indian River County.

Martinez has been searching for shipwreck treasures off Florida’s Treasure Coast for 24 years, racking up more than $10 million on coins and artifacts, but his team’s recent find was quite the haul.

Searching in the waters off Wabasso Beach, the threesome found 22 silver coins, believed to be from the 1715 Treasure Fleet shipwreck when 11 Spanish ships returning from Cuba went down during a hurricane.

Martinez told WPTV the coins to could be worth up to $6,000, but for him, they’re priceless. He doesn’t plan to sell any of them.

Over the years, the crew of treasure hunters has pulled up a stash of items even the Little Mermaid would envy; belt buckles, daggers, cutlery, porcelain, rings, and cufflinks, to name a handful.

Those items have been divided up between Martinez and his fellow treasure hunters, and have also been donated to museums.