10 Unclaimed Treasures That Would Make You Filthy Rich
3. Nuestra Señora De Atocha
Modern Value: $1 Billion The Nuestra Senora de Atocha was the best known ship in another Spanish treasure fleet, which sank in 1622 due to another hurricane. The ship sank in the Florida Keys while carrying gold, silver, copper, gems, jewels, expensive materials like jewelry, indigo and tobacco; all totalling about $1 Billion in today's market. The ship and fleet suffered a string of problems and bad luck. The amount of treasure arriving to load onto the ship was so huge that it took two full months to record and stow the cargo on the ship. Other ships of the fleet were unable to sail until they had been repaired, and others still were kept in port as storms wracked the coast of America. Eventually, after even more delays, the Atocha and her 27 other ships of the treasure fleet managed to convene in Havana, where they suffered more delays. They did not manage to leave for Spain until they were six full weeks behind schedule. Two days after they left Havana, a large, powerful hurricane drove the Atocha away from her fleet and onto coral reefs about thirty five miles from Key West. She sank quickly, drowning everyone on board, with the exception of three sailors and two slaves. The surviving ships returned to Havana, and reported the sinking. Five more ships attempted to salvage what they could from the wreck, and another spanish wreck, the Santa Margarita. They managed to recover around half of the treasure from the Santa Margarita, but the Atocha was not found until 1985. The ship contained large amounts of treasure, but the sterncastle, where the most valuable treasure would have been stored was missing from the ship. As recently as 2011, treasure was still being recovered from the sterncastle. Two silver spoons and a single emerald ring were found, the ring alone being worth around half a million dollars. Whomever manages to find the missing sterncastle and recover the treasure within will net around $1 billion. That is definitely a prize worth hunting, especially in such shallow water and knowing the position of the hull of the sunken ship. The sterncastle cannot be far.
