Treasure Blog

The Atocha Cross, discovered 1982

Here is a detailed drawing and images of one of Atocha's most magnificent discoveries, an exquisite emerald cross with an intricately etched image of St. Anthony and Christ child and the Madonna and child. Read more...

Gold Chains of the 1622 Fleet
By James Sinclair

Perhaps one of the most unanticipated finds from the 1622 Fleet shipwrecks is the gold chains. This was a class of item that while expected turned up in numbers that were truly staggering. The first of the gold chains to be found came from the area where the first galleon anchor was found in the area of the Quicksands that was dubbed the Bank of Spain.

The first of the chains to be found was a small example but it none-the-less brought much excitement. Brought to the surface by photographer Don Kincaid, it was a thrilling moment for those involved. While some silver coins had been found, along with the galleon anchor, the presence of gold made the find that much more real and exciting.

9 Carat Emerald Ring Found - June 2011

By James Sinclair

Continuing the wonderful finds from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, on June 23, 2011 Capt. Andy Matroci and the crew of the J.B. Magruder have done it again! This time with the recovery of a beautiful emerald ring, two silver spoons and some silver coins. In the last Newsletter I mentioned in the article on the gold rosary find, that it may...

About an hour before this shot was taken Mel was sitting with his dive gear on about to go in the water with Steve, one of our divers. Then someone spotted a shark fin near the boat. Mel said to Steve, "Well are you going in or not?"

This is the story of Mel and his family's search through the years.

Originally written by Bleth McHaley & Wendy Tucker

July 20, 1985 was "the day" at last when Mel Fisher, the world's greatest treasure hunter, found his dream of dreams, the priceless treasure cargo of the fabled lost Spanish galleon Atocha. 

The following account detailing the ill-fated voyage of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha and her sister ship the Santa Margarita from Havana to their final resting place at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Key West, Florida was written by archeologist R. Duncan Mathewson III and can be found in his book, Treasure of the Atocha. An exciting adventure story of the search and discovery of what is proving to be the most fabulous treasure wreck of all time can be found in the book section of this site.

The Ghost Galleon

The Poison Cup Story
By Kim Fisher

It was a long time ago. My first wife JoArden Michael was pregnant with our eldest son, Jeremy. Jeremy was born in January 1975 so it must have been the summer of 1974. The ocean was flat calm, like a sheet of glass. Because the seas were so calm and there was no wind the Captain of the Virgilona Demostonese “Mo” Molinar had decided to spend the night on the Atocha site. We were going to work until dark. 

We were working in shallow sand just one or two feet deep on the edge of the “Quicksands”. Because of the water depth and the shallow sand, we were running the mailboxes at an idle dusting away the fine white sand. It was the last hole of the day and the sun had already sunk halfway below the horizon. I was the only one still suited up and the rest of the crew was busy putting their gear away and clearing the decks for the night. 

October, 2020
Museum quality "Columbia Plain Pottery" found on the Atocha site!
️⚓️ New footage of the bowl recovered from the Atocha site. Watch as Treasure Diver Tim Meade shows you the fully intact bowl discovered this month. This style pottery is known as "Columbia Plain" and is thought to be well preserved because of it's thick nature. Here is an excerpt from Archeologist Mitchell W. Marken, "CERAMICS from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha" explaining more about Columbia Plain Pottery. "The second most common ceramic tradition found on Spanish shipwrecks is the Columbia Plain type tin glazed earthenwares. These wares were used as the everyday plates (platos) and drinking bowls (escudillas) by crew and less wealthy passengers. The platos and escudillas were probably made on molds as a fair degree of uniformity exists." This find is very unique because it is fully intact and still has a good amount of glaze left on it. You can just feel the history and only imagine what it was like to be a crew member on one of these vessels.