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We are happy to report that yesterday the Dare crew discovered a 3" spike and a silver coin on the Atocha site! Due to issues with the generator they returned to port but will be headed out shortly as soon as repair is finished. They plan on working the same area where artifacts were discovered.
“Today's the Day!”
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Reversed letters and design elements on silver “cob” coinage produced by the Potosi mint might have been the work of an employee suffering from a reading disorder.
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During the period of 1619-22, a worker at the Potosi mint apparently suffered from dyslexia, a reading disorder characterized by impaired ability to interpret spatial relationships or to integrate auditory and visual information. This theory is supported by a number of the surviving coins struck in Potosi during that brief period exhibiting distinctive abnormalities that are unusual even for the crude Spanish colonial silver “cob” coinage of what was then the Viceroyalty of Peru.
The first indication I had of this strange series of cob coinage occurred in 1986 when Louis D. Hudson, a friend and specialist in Latin American coins, showed me a very unusual group of five Potosi cobs struck between 1619 and 1622. Two of these coins had a “P” initial (mintmark of the Potosi mind) that more closely resembled the Greek letter phi ( ) than the normally encountered Roman letter “P,” while the other three had reversed “P” mintmarks. At the time, neither of us could guess why such strange variations of the letter ”P” would have been used repeatedly and on different denominations.
Shortly after, I obtained a Potosi 8-reale cob dated 1622 that exhibited an unusual reversal of portions of the Hapsburg shield on the obverse. At the time, I dismissed this aberration as careless mint work typical of the period, not realizing that it could be related in any way to the unusual mint initials. Subsequently, I studied numismatic references and located enough examples of similar variant designs to conclude that a significant number of these unusual cobs must have been struck in Potosi during a relatively short period. However, I remained at a loss to explain these coins as anything more than products of unskilled die-cutters who inadvertently reversed images by incorrectly copying earlier dies.
Apparently the first person to consider dyslexia as a possible cause of these die variations was Leah L. Miguel, former curator of precious artifacts for Treasure Salvors, Inc. (She was familiar with the symptoms because her dyslexic son frequently wrote letters and numbers backwards.)
The “dyslexic” features of these strange coins fall into three basic categories—mintmark variations, transposed elements of the Hapsburg shield, and the transpositions and reversals within legends and designs outside the shield. Aberrant features are found on cobs assayed by … – Juan Ximenez de Tapia (who used “T” as his assayer’s initial) …
MINTMARK VARIATIONS
Variations of the “P” mintmark provide the most striking and obvious indication of a dyslexic mint worker, and two such variations within this category have been noted. The rarer of the two is simply a reversed letter “P.” …
…The second and more frequently encountered variation is a reversed letter “P” that has been corrected, resulting in a mintmark that resembles a shortened Greek letter phi. This is probably the result of an attempt to correct the earlier die with the reversed initial, perhaps because of complaints by the authorities…
ELEMENTS WITHIN THE HAPSBURG SHIELD
The second and more complex category of “dyslexic” die variations concerns the placement of elements within the Hapsburg shield, symbol of the reigning monarch of Spain. The most obvious variation is the transposition of the quarters of Castile-Leon and Aragon-Naples-Sicily…
REVERSALS IN LEGEND AND DESIGN ELEMENTS
The third possible category of “dyslexic” aberrations is that of transpositions and reversals within the obverse and reverse legends, and transposition of major elements of the design outside the Hapsburg shield.
Since few coins of this period show significant portions of the legend, it is very difficult to document these variations. However, one 8-real cob listed by Dr. Ernesto A. Sellschopp clearly provides an example of exactly what one would expect to find in a “dyslexic” legend – the king’s Latin name “PHILIPVS” spelled with each letter “P” reversed…
Questions
After considering these variant designs carefully, several questions remain…In spite of these questions, several facts concerning these unusual designs are undisputed: a relatively short period of time was involved, the nature of the die variations is distinctive, and portions of designs rather than complete designs are reversed. These factors reasonably justify the conclusion that a mint worker at Potosi suffered from dyslexia and that this condition either directly or indirectly resulted in unusual reversals of design elements on cobs during 1619-22 (and perhaps longer)… there is no question that a fascinating – and collectable – series of distinctive, unusual designs exists on many Potosi cobs of this period.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks go to Louis D. Hudson and Leah L. Miguel for their willingness to share their opinions and experiences. Torrey McLean is the State Registrar of North Carolina and resides in a suburb of Raleigh. A former military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army who served in Germany and Vietnam, he was employed by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History for 14 years prior to becoming State Registrar. McLean also is a member of the American Numismatic Society, and has studied and collected Spanish colonial “cob” coins for more than 20 years.
"I think that perseverance has paid. That's one of the main things, just hang in there and do your thing and when people try to tear you down or get jealous, just let it go in one ear and out the other and keep on going." - Mel Fisher
]]>"I think that perseverance has paid. That's one of the main things, just hang in there and do your thing and when people try to tear you down or get jealous, just let it go in one ear and out the other and keep on going." - Mel Fisher
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.
At 1:05 p.m. that amazing day, Mel Fisher learned from his son Kane that his greatest dream had been realized. The marine radio crackled to life in the Key West, Florida office of Mel Fisher at Treasure Salvors, Inc. "WZG9605. Unit 1, this is Unit 11." From aboard the vessel Dauntless of which he was captain, Kane told his beaming father: "Put away the charts. We've got the 'Mother Lode'!"
The dream that had consumed Mel Fisher for more than 16 years now came true before the eyes of the world. He had found the "rainbow's end" including stacks of silver bars, chests of silver coins, gold, jewels, and thousands of other unique artifacts from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. Mel Fisher found what adventurous souls through centuries had only dreamed of finding!
Mel Fisher's dreams of treasure began in childhood with the reading of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, and about pirates of the "Spanish Main". He also read about the exploits of deep sea divers in their bulky "hard hat" suits who were just beginning the exploration of the sub-sea world. There were no oceans to conquer in Hobart and Glen Park, Indiana. But at age eleven, Mel Fisher made his own first "hard hat" diving outfit to use in a mud-bottomed lagoon.
Mel learned carpentry skills from his father, Earl Fisher, and his musical talents seemed to come from his mother's side of the family. Grace Sprencel Fisher and her sisters were gifted in music and dance. Mel Fisher formed his first dance band while attending Lew Wallace High School at Glen Park, Indiana. He attended Purdue University, where he studied engineering and led his own 21-piece band. With the outbreak of World War II, Mel went into the U.S.Army. He was trained and served with the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers. Before being shipped over-seas to Europe with the Army Engineers, he studied at the University of Alabama where he was later awarded an honorary doctorate.
After the war, Mel restlessly moved to Chicago and Denver, then to Florida where he again pursued his primary interest in diving. In 1950, Mel moved with his parents to Torrance, California. They operated a chicken ranch there.
Mel continued to pursue his interest in diving while he helped with the ranch and also studied animal husbandry at El Camino College. Mel Fisher opened his first dive shop in a small feed shed on the family chicken ranch. He had a small compressor and sold "breathing" air as well as scuba equipment and parts.
In 1953, a gorgeous, red-haired girl named Dolores Horton lighted Mel Fisher's life. She was from Montana and a stranger to the ocean, but quickly became a mermaid called "Deo". On their honeymoon, the handsome young couple went diving on shipwrecks in Florida and the Florida Keys. They planned to open a store devoted exclusively to diving. To raise the money they dove commercially for spiny lobster in the frigid California waters. This was grueling but lucrative work, and they built their own business one wall at a time. Finally they opened Mel's Aqua Shop in Redondo Beach, California. This was the first "dive shop" in the world.
Mel and Dolores Fisher were hugely successful in this pioneering business, training more than 65,000 novices in the science of scuba diving. An undersea pioneer, Mel made early underwater films and movies, for training, advertising and entertainment purposes. When television was still young, Mel Fisher aired his own underwater adventures on weekly TV shows. Dolores personally set a world underwater endurance record that continues through the years to stand as a woman's underwater endurance record of more than 55 hours and 37 minutes, [55:37:9.6]. Mel and Deo were the unofficial "king and queen" of the underwater world.
Five children were born to Mel and Dolores Fisher, sons Terry, Dirk, Kim and Kane, and daughter Taffi. The Fisher enterprise has always been a "family" activity. Mel personally continued to develop various types of wet suits, spear guns, including gas guns, underwater cameras, housings, and other underwater equipment.
In company with other multi-talented divers, the Fishers explored the California coast for shipwrecks, and ultimately completed several exciting treasure hunting expeditions into the Caribbean. Discoveries from these adventures were limited. But each one gave unique training to Mel and Deo.
In 1962, returning from the Caribbean through Florida, Mel had a meeting with a treasure hunter named Kip Wagner. Wagner had been attempting to salvage remains of the ten shipwrecks of the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet lost in a hurricane off Florida's East Coast. Ill-equipped, with his crew unable to devote full-time to the project, Wagner invited Mel to join him on a 50-50 basis.
Mel, along with a hand-picked team of seven people, agreed to move to Florida and work for one year without pay while searching for the big bonanza. After 360 days of "no finds", the team was testing a device Mel invented called the "mailbox". This is a tube which is lowered from the vessels stern over the propellers while the boat is securely anchored. The engines are then put in gear and the prop wash sends a layer of clear water from the surface downward to the bottom so the divers can see. But it did more than bring clear water to the bottom so that the divers could see. The "mailbox" also dug a hole in the sand and revealed 1,033 gold coins. Mel Fisher exclaimed "Once you have seen the ocean bottom paved with gold, you'll never forget it!" They were hooked. The team continued salvaging the 1715 Fleet for another decade.
During the winter months, it was impossible to dive and salvage the 1715 Fleet because of storms and rough waters. Around 1969, Mel shifted his focus from the 1715 sites to the tropical waters of the Florida Keys in search of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha which he had read about in Potter's Treasure Diver's Guide. It was a royal guard galleon with 40 tons of gold and silver aboard which sank in a devastating hurricane along with others in 1622. Mel had found a new goal worthy of this greatest effort. The hunt had begun.
One of Mel's projects was to operate a floating treasure museum. Mel searched in Europe and purchased an old ship in 1967. It was brought across the Atlantic Ocean and converted into a full size reproduction of a Spanish galleon which served as a floating museum and headquarters for Mel's operations.
In 1980, Mel Fisher topped his previous glories as a treasure hunter to discover more than 20 million dollars worth of gold and other riches of the Santa Margarita, a sister ship of the Atocha lost in the same storm of 1622. However, finding priceless treasures and artifacts is only the beginning. They must be conserved, studied, restored, recorded, and, to share them with the world, exhibited. Mel's "Ship Museum" sank in the early eighties, so, in 1987, with part of his share of treasure, Mel bought a former Key West Naval Station building to permanently house the non-profit Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum, with research center, education and conservation laboratories, and Mel's own private headquarters.
It took years, cost lives, and challenged all who served as members of Mel's loyal crew. Mel Fisher made a commitment of his greatest personal effort to find the Atocha, believing every day that the elusive lady was ready at last to reveal her lavish secrets. Lesser men would have failed. On July 20, 1985, after more than 15 years, Mel's dream was achieved, and the Atocha's mother lode was located. Thousands of artifacts, silver coins, gold coins, many in near mint condition, period and earlier amazing Spanish objects and wares, exquisite jewelry set with precious stones, gold chains, disks, a variety of armaments and even seeds (which later sprouted!) were recovered. These and more discovered by Mel Fisher and his "Golden Crew" reflected the richest treasure find since the opening of King Tut's tomb in the 1930s. The lives of Mel and Dolores Fisher, their family and all their crew were lifted onto the world's stage as people who truly contributed to the priceless historical and cultural heritage of the world.
In the 1990s, the Mel Fisher Center, Inc. was opened in Sebastian, Florida. It primarily serves to exhibit many of the discoveries from wrecks of the 1715 Fleet.
Thousands of people: students, scholars and interested persons: come from all over the world to see the educational, cultural and historical treasures that have been raised from oblivion by Mel Fisher and his crews.
Whoever comes to see Mel Fisher also comes to share in the glory of discovery. For those who dream and persevere like Mel Fisher, "Today" is always "The Day".
"WE MISS YOU MEL!" - We know that you are with us in spirit and riding the high seas of heaven.
Mel Fisher: August 21, 1922 - December 19, 1998
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The coin was found in the deep mud area just NW of the main pile find. The crew came back in due to inclement weather but will be going back out once conditions improve. Today's the day!
We were driven in by heavy thunderstorms and are currently waiting for this "cold" front that is bringing wind to move through so we can head back out.
Today's the day!
Video of discovery
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This gold & emerald ring was discovered on the Margarita shipwreck site.
This is a wonderful example of the baroque style of this time period. We are looking forward to a new season of treasure hunting and finding more pieces of history to share with you!
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...
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. The amount of detail on this cross is astonishing. Discovered in 1982 by diver Frederick "Rico" Ingerson along with a matching emerald ring, it was found in an encrusted silver box with the initials ABL on the top. Gold and emeralds; 4½ × 2½ in.
]]>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.
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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.
It was over the course of years, but many chains would be found, literally thousands of feet in total of many different sizes and designs. As one of the members of the team researching and explaining the collection from the wreck, the sheer volume of this class of gold artifact was puzzling.
However more research by historian Dr. Eugene Lyon among others helped to shed light on just why we were seeing so many gold chains being recovered from these important shipwrecks.
Gold chains began to become extremely popular across Europe in the century before the Atocha and Margarita were lost. This fact can be seen in the many portraits dating from that time that show the wealthy (both men and women) wearing chains of gold. Women would wear the chains as, necklace, belt or choker. Men would wear them either around the neck or over the shoulder with and without suspended decorations.
In fact, in Spain several edicts were passed by King Philip II court that prohibited the ostentatious jewelry that was in vogue during the reign of his father Charles V. This earlier jewelry can be seen in many paintings of that earlier period. Perhaps one of the best known is the portrait of Henry VIII wearing his famous collar of gold and jewel
encrusted pendants. Indeed, Phillip II became increasingly sensitive to the poverty of the Spanish people, especially after the failed invasion of England in 1588.
In a series of edicts, the wearing of this type of jewelry was forbidden, however the King conceded that the wearing of gold chains was okay. As a result, gold chains of prodigious size and weight began to be manufactured (the bigger the more well off) and their presence in the art of the day begins to show in increasing amounts. By the time of the loss of the Atocha and the Santa Margarita in 1622 the style was firmly implanted in the culture of Spain and by extension it’s colonies in the New World.
However, there were other dimensions to the chains from the 1622 fleet. One of the interesting findings was that some of the largest chains had links of very pure gold (usually 23K) and each of those links weighed a very specific amount. In fact, these links weighed the same as some of the gold coinage that was circulating at the time. Why would this be? Even by the year 1622 the king had not given permission to mint gold coins in the New World, although many had petitioned the court for this to be done. As a consequence, there was a shortage of gold coins in the New World to be used in commerce. So, these chains are thought to represent a way around this shortage and were in a very real sense portable wealth.
There was also a lesser tax on jewelry than on bullion so that even the cost of making of these chains represented a substantial savings over the creation of bullion pieces and the payment of the Quinto (the royal tax of 20%). Once we had realized that this was a sort of end run around the taxes of the time as well as a stand in for gold coinage, the chains that had links that represented the weight of coins were dubbed “money chains”.
The Wedding Chain
(see re-creation wedding chains)
One chain that was recovered from the Santa Margarita merited its own name. Two 3-foot loops of massive gold chain joined by a central link bring this object to nearly 7lbs of gold. Spanish Colonies, as in the Spanish homeland, old customs survived and were adopted into the New World colonies. One of these was the dowry, a payment of the bride’s family to that of the groom’s for the marriage of the daughter to the son. A custom also existed to show the unity of
the two families by placing a “garland” of flowers over the head of the bride and the groom. These flowers were joined by a central loop thus the “unity”. This massive chain seems to echo this custom on both counts hence the name “wedding chain”.
See an authentic Atocha gold money chain for sale
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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...
]]>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 be that Capt. Andy and his crew was beginning to develop a “trail” of material that could lead to spectacular finds, and indeed, they have.
The Ring
The ring holds a square cut emerald of enormous size, easily 10 carat of the finest quality Colombian Muzo emerald the deep vibrant green has a clarity rare in jewelry of this time period and certainly with all of the spectacular finds from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha through the years this ranks as one of the finest gemstones to date.
Emerald Ring Artifact #90326
The ring itself is done it a baroque style with a high relief of decoration. In fact the meaning of the term baroque was originally applied to pearls that are natural and irregular. In time it came to define a class of art and architecture that was notable for its abundance of decoration. This style was particularly popular between the 16th and 18th centuries. It became a term with negative connotations much the same as byzantine is sometimes used when referring to a situation or illustration that has almost too much decoration included.
Manuel Marcial de Gomar of Emeralds international who is in the process of appraising the emerald in the ring brought forth the idea that while baroque may be applied her that there is much in the design of the ring that is reminiscent of the style in Spain that was an amalgam of a both Christian Spanish and Muslim Spanish known as “Mudejar” which literally translated means
“those left behind”. After the Reconquista of Spain was completed in 1492, a large population of Muslim Spanish was left behind
Examples above of “Baroque settings on rings”
Atocha Emerald Ring, 1996 #58504
Atocha “Bishops Ring”, 1982
The inscription:
On the undersurface of the setting of the ring is a monogram word/name. There has been speculation on the exact meaning however, using Occam’s razor principle (the simplest explanation is usually the most correct) it seems fairly straightforward. Marcos is Spanish for St. Mark who, among other things is credited with bringing Christianity to the indigenous people of Africa, hence the other name for Mark “the evangelist.” Perhaps the efforts of St. Mark in establishing the Christian faith in Africa resonated with the owner of the current find in his efforts in the New World, for rings like this were the province of the very wealthy and powerful and more specifically a powerful and wealthy member of the clergy. However, there is also, in the first three letters of “marco” a monogram that contains the sacred monogram of the Virgin Mary which are the three letters MAR. It is known as the Sacred Monogram of the Blessed Virgin, and consists of the stylized letters AMR conjoined - the initial letters of Ave Maria Regina (Hail Mary Queen) - denoting Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Queen of Heaven. The idea of Mary as Queen of Heaven comes from Revelation 12.1-5. In fact, all five letters of the name MARIA can be deciphered in this motif. So quite possibly we have a very complex and deep religious meaning to these few letters contained on the reverse of the ring.
Arrow showing “Mary” Monogram
These rings are known as “Bishops rings” or “Pontifical rings” which are also ancient symbols of the faith and commitment of the individual wearing them. Bishops have worn a ring to denote their special office. The first tracing of a Bishop's ring is found about A.D. 610. Bishops' rings were always designed around a single stone, which was a ruby, an emerald, or a sapphire, and the stone was not engraved. The other example of a ring found like this was recovered from the Atocha in 1982 and is known as the “Bishops Ring”. It came out of a silver box along with a pectoral cross studded with deep green emeralds.
The current ring, coming as it does aboard the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, is set with a magnificent example of what are acknowledged as the finest emeralds in the world, those from the famous Muzo mine in Columbia. Manuel Marcial de Gomar, owner of Emeralds International located in Key West Florida, who has studied and appraised the collection of Atocha emeralds ever since their discovery was extremely excited by this find. He believes this is one of the finest quality emeralds to be found on the Atocha and also due to the large size of the stone, approximately 10 carats, it’s in a class all by itself.
It seems as though this latest find is another example of possible “church” treasures. Just the type of valuable material that we are searching for and expect to see in the stern castle of the Atocha - will the team find a matching “pectoral cross” to this ring as in the 1982 find? Excitement keeps mounting about these finds and this area - these latest treasures may well be remembered as the first clues that showed the way to the “other mother”. And as Mel said for so many years,
“Today is the Day!”
]]>The Emerald Recovered From 400-Year-Old Shipwreck Raises $1.2 Million For Ukraine At Auction. All proceeds set to be donated to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Late Perdue Farms CEO Frank Perdue was an early on member with Mel Fisher and was given some of the treasure, and while he donated most of his share, he kept an emerald that he later had cut for the engagement ring he used to propose to his wife Mitzi in 1988.
Mitzi Perdue was selling the ring in order to give the proceeds to humanitarian groups helping Ukraine, according to Sotheby’s, saying her late husband would “share my desire to help those in dire need” (Frank Perdue died in 2005).
The ring sold to an anonymous buyer for far more than expected, more than 15 times as much as the $70,000 high-end estimate of the auction house.
]]>Watch BEYOND OAK ISLAND on the History Channel next Tuesday, October 4th to see the new Season 3, Episode 1 - "The Atocha's Emerald City". The Lagina Brothers and Matty Blake joined us in Key West recently, to search for Atocha emeralds. Today's the day! Set your DVRs! Here are some behind the scene images from when they filmed at our Duval Street location.
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On this day in 2007 this magnificent gold money chain was found. What makes it unique is the fob that was found still attached! These chains were used by many as currency. People would twist off a link and use as money. This chain in particular is 58" long and has over 400 links. The links were all handmade in South America and found on the Santa Margarita Shipwreck site.
History on galleons and Santa Margarita: Much of the one and a half million pesos worth of treasure-aboard worth today perhaps $400 million-was assigned to the Santa Margarita and the new ship, the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. The Atocha had been built in the Havana shipyard and, sure to bring her good luck, was named for the most revered religious shrine in Spain. Just in case the Almighty’s providence didn’t extend to sinking Dutch warships, the Atocha was fitted with 20 bronze cannons. This strong ship was to be the almiranta, sailing last to protect the slow, lumbering merchant ships in the rear of the flota. The Tierra Firme and Guard ships – 28 vessels in all-departed from Havana on September 4, six weeks behind schedule.
On September 5, the fleets were overtaken by a rapidly-moving hurricane. As dawn streaked the horizon, it brought dread to the more experienced sailors. The gale force winds, rising out of the northeast, quickly increased. The gusts raked the surface of the northward-flowing Gulf Stream, piling up huge seas in front of the ships. Aboard the Atocha, the chief pilot lit a lantern as clouds and rain blackened the sky. Ahead, the lead galleons were already out of sight. The merchant ships sailing close by the almiranta were themselves hidden by rain as the storm swept by. Crewmen scrambled into the rigging to take in sail. As they hung from this fragile rope spider’s web high above the deck, the ends of the yard arms dipped into the ocean as the ship rolled violently. Frothing green water roared across the deck. Just before darkness, a veil of spray closed around the seasick passengers and crew of the Atocha. They watched in horror as the tiny Nuestra Senora de la Consolacion, wallowing in the mammoth seas, simply capsized and disappeared.
That night, the wind shifted, coming out of the south. The hurricane now hurled the fleet north toward the Florida reef line. Before daylight, the Marquis’ ship-the Candeleria-and 20 other vessels passed to the west of a group of rocky islands, the Dry Tortugas. Beyond the reefs of the Straits of Florida, they rode out the winds in the safe, deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Behind them, they’d left several small merchant vessels on the bottom in deep water. At least four ships, including the Atocha and Santa Margarita, were swept headlong into the Florida Keys. Near a low-lying atoll fringed with mangroves, 15-foot rollers carried the Margarita across the reef, grounding her in the shallows beyond.
The lost ships of the 1622 treasure fleet lay scattered over 50 miles stretching from the Dry Tortugas eastward to where the Atocha slipped beneath the water. About 550 people perished along with a total cargo worth more than 2 million pesos.
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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?"
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This authentic crown ring was recovered from the 1715 Fleet wreck site on Florida’s east coast and crafted in the time of the Renaissance. Since purple is the color of royalty, how appropriate is it then for this marquise-cut amethyst to be crowned by two fanciful angels?
]]>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.
]]>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.
At 1:05 p.m. that amazing day, Mel Fisher learned from his son Kane that his greatest dream had been realized. The marine radio crackled to life in the Key West, Florida office of Mel Fisher at Treasure Salvors, Inc. "WZG9605. Unit 1, this is Unit 11." From aboard the vessel Dauntless of which he was captain, Kane told his beaming father: "Put away the charts. We've got the 'Mother Lode'!"
The dream that had consumed Mel Fisher for more than 16 years now came true before the eyes of the world. He had found the "rainbow's end" including stacks of silver bars, chests of silver coins, gold, jewels, and thousands of other unique artifacts from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. Mel Fisher found what adventurous souls through centuries had only dreamed of finding!
Mel Fisher's dreams of treasure began in childhood with the reading of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, and about pirates of the "Spanish Main". He also read about the exploits of deep sea divers in their bulky "hard hat" suits who were just beginning the exploration of the sub-sea world. There were no oceans to conquer in Hobart and Glen Park, Indiana. But at age eleven, Mel Fisher made his own first "hard hat" diving outfit to use in a mud-bottomed lagoon.
Mel learned carpentry skills from his father, Earl Fisher, and his musical talents seemed to come from his mother's side of the family. Grace Sprencel Fisher and her sisters were gifted in music and dance. Mel Fisher formed his first dance band while attending Lew Wallace High School at Glen Park, Indiana. He attended Purdue University, where he studied engineering and led his own 21-piece band. With the outbreak of World War II, Mel went into the U.S.Army. He was trained and served with the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers. Before being shipped over-seas to Europe with the Army Engineers, he studied at the University of Alabama where he was later awarded an honorary doctorate.
After the war, Mel restlessly moved to Chicago and Denver, then to Florida where he again pursued his primary interest in diving. In 1950, Mel moved with his parents to Torrance, California. They operated a chicken ranch there.
Mel continued to pursue his interest in diving while he helped with the ranch and also studied animal husbandry at El Camino College. Mel Fisher opened his first dive shop in a small feed shed on the family chicken ranch. He had a small compressor and sold "breathing" air as well as scuba equipment and parts.
In 1953, a gorgeous, red-haired girl named Dolores Horton lighted Mel Fisher's life. She was from Montana and a stranger to the ocean, but quickly became a mermaid called "Deo". On their honeymoon, the handsome young couple went diving on shipwrecks in Florida and the Florida Keys. They planned to open a store devoted exclusively to diving. To raise the money they dove commercially for spiny lobster in the frigid California waters. This was grueling but lucrative work, and they built their own business one wall at a time. Finally they opened Mel's Aqua Shop in Redondo Beach, California. This was the first "dive shop" in the world.
Mel and Dolores Fisher were hugely successful in this pioneering business, training more than 65,000 novices in the science of scuba diving. An undersea pioneer, Mel made early underwater films and movies, for training, advertising and entertainment purposes. When television was still young, Mel Fisher aired his own underwater adventures on weekly TV shows. Dolores personally set a world underwater endurance record that continues through the years to stand as a woman's underwater endurance record of more than 55 hours and 37 minutes, [55:37:9.6]. Mel and Deo were the unofficial "king and queen" of the underwater world.
Five children were born to Mel and Dolores Fisher, sons Terry, Dirk, Kim and Kane, and daughter Taffi. The Fisher enterprise has always been a "family" activity. Mel personally continued to develop various types of wet suits, spear guns, including gas guns, underwater cameras, housings, and other underwater equipment.
In company with other multi-talented divers, the Fishers explored the California coast for shipwrecks, and ultimately completed several exciting treasure hunting expeditions into the Caribbean. Discoveries from these adventures were limited. But each one gave unique training to Mel and Deo.
In 1962, returning from the Caribbean through Florida, Mel had a meeting with a treasure hunter named Kip Wagner. Wagner had been attempting to salvage remains of the ten shipwrecks of the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet lost in a hurricane off Florida's East Coast. Ill-equipped, with his crew unable to devote full-time to the project, Wagner invited Mel to join him on a 50-50 basis.
Mel, along with a hand-picked team of seven people, agreed to move to Florida and work for one year without pay while searching for the big bonanza. After 360 days of "no finds", the team was testing a device Mel invented called the "mailbox". This is a tube which is lowered from the vessels stern over the propellers while the boat is securely anchored. The engines are then put in gear and the prop wash sends a layer of clear water from the surface downward to the bottom so the divers can see. But it did more than bring clear water to the bottom so that the divers could see. The "mailbox" also dug a hole in the sand and revealed 1,033 gold coins. Mel Fisher exclaimed "Once you have seen the ocean bottom paved with gold, you'll never forget it!" They were hooked. The team continued salvaging the 1715 Fleet for another decade.
During the winter months, it was impossible to dive and salvage the 1715 Fleet because of storms and rough waters. Around 1969, Mel shifted his focus from the 1715 sites to the tropical waters of the Florida Keys in search of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha which he had read about in Potter's Treasure Diver's Guide. It was a royal guard galleon with 40 tons of gold and silver aboard which sank in a devastating hurricane along with others in 1622. Mel had found a new goal worthy of this greatest effort. The hunt had begun.
One of Mel's projects was to operate a floating treasure museum. Mel searched in Europe and purchased an old ship in 1967. It was brought across the Atlantic Ocean and converted into a full size reproduction of a Spanish galleon which served as a floating museum and headquarters for Mel's operations.
In 1980, Mel Fisher topped his previous glories as a treasure hunter to discover more than 20 million dollars worth of gold and other riches of the Santa Margarita, a sister ship of the Atocha lost in the same storm of 1622. However, finding priceless treasures and artifacts is only the beginning. They must be conserved, studied, restored, recorded, and, to share them with the world, exhibited. Mel's "Ship Museum" sank in the early eighties, so, in 1987, with part of his share of treasure, Mel bought a former Key West Naval Station building to permanently house the non-profit Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum, with research center, education and conservation laboratories, and Mel's own private headquarters.
It took years, cost lives, and challenged all who served as members of Mel's loyal crew. Mel Fisher made a commitment of his greatest personal effort to find the Atocha, believing every day that the elusive lady was ready at last to reveal her lavish secrets. Lesser men would have failed. On July 20, 1985, after more than 15 years, Mel's dream was achieved, and the Atocha's mother lode was located. Thousands of artifacts, silver coins, gold coins, many in near mint condition, period and earlier amazing Spanish objects and wares, exquisite jewelry set with precious stones, gold chains, disks, a variety of armaments and even seeds (which later sprouted!) were recovered. These and more discovered by Mel Fisher and his "Golden Crew" reflected the richest treasure find since the opening of King Tut's tomb in the 1930s. The lives of Mel and Dolores Fisher, their family and all their crew were lifted onto the world's stage as people who truly contributed to the priceless historical and cultural heritage of the world.
In the 1990s, the Mel Fisher Center, Inc. was opened in Sebastian, Florida. It primarily serves to exhibit many of the discoveries from wrecks of the 1715 Fleet.
Thousands of people: students, scholars and interested persons: come from all over the world to see the educational, cultural and historical treasures that have been raised from oblivion by Mel Fisher and his crews.
Whoever comes to see Mel Fisher also comes to share in the glory of discovery. For those who dream and persevere like Mel Fisher, "Today" is always "The Day".
"WE MISS YOU MEL!" - We know that you are with us in spirit and riding the high seas of heaven.
Mel Fisher: August 21, 1922 - December 19, 1998
]]>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 Ghost Galleon In the century following Columbus' dramatic voyage of discovery in 1492, the riches of her New World colonies helped make Spain the most powerful nation in Europe. Taxes on goods shipped from Central and South America by Spanish merchants enabled Spain to defend its Western Hemisphere claims against the English, French, and Dutch, and to extend its empire halfway around the world into the South Pacific.
The Atocha and its sister ship, Santa Margarita, are tragic milestones along this broad commercial highway (called Carrera de Indias by the Spanish) that carried
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 Ghost Galleon In the century following Columbus' dramatic voyage of discovery in 1492, the riches of her New World colonies helped make Spain the most powerful nation in Europe. Taxes on goods shipped from Central and South America by Spanish merchants enabled Spain to defend its Western Hemisphere claims against the English, French, and Dutch, and to extend its empire halfway around the world into the South Pacific.
The Atocha and its sister ship, Santa Margarita, are tragic milestones along this broad commercial highway (called Carrera de Indias by the Spanish) that carried
Europe on a journey from isolation to world domination. Not only were the colonies prime consumers of goods produced in Spain; the conquests initiated a torrent of valuable agricultural goods, precious metals and high-quality gems that pulsed through the veins of Spanish mercantile shipping and back to the mother country. From 1530 to 1800, approximately six billion to eight billion dollars of gold and silver were mined in the Spanish American colonies. During this time, the ratio of gold to silver shipped to Spain was about one to ten. This wealth drastically changed the course of European history, raising Spain to a position of world dominance.
The Tierra Firme fleet was loaded in Portobello and Cartagena with silver and gold from Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia. Copper from the King’s mines in Cuba was added in Havana. The Honduras fleet called at Trujillo for valuable indigo dye.
When things went according to plan, all fleets met in Havana, Cuba in July to assemble the cargo for the voyage back to Spain. The bulk of the gold and silver was usually carried by the large, heavily-armed galleons, while the smaller merchant ships transported agricultural products.
Spain was still the preeminent power in 1622. However, her position of power was badly slipping as the crucial stages of the Thirty Years War unfolded. The year before, Spain had ended a 12-year truce with her rebellious Dutch provinces. The Dutch had joined with France, openly attacking Spanish naval and merchant vessels. The cost of the fighting sapped Spain’s economy, and the Royal Treasury was seriously overextended. To finance the war and continue the pomp and splendor of the Royal Court, the Crown borrowed heavily; so heavily that the king’s bankers kept representatives in Seville to claim a large share of the wealth when the rich convoys arrived from the New World each year.
Although the treasure fleet had sailed in 1621, money in the treasury was dangerously low. Collected taxes and royal proceeds accumulating in the Americas were desperately needed. It was paramount that the 1622 fleet successfully make the long and dangerous voyage. The government’s creditors were impatient, and the king’s share of the treasure would keep them at bay a bit longer. It might even convince them to extend more badly needed funds for the war effort.
The term "Pieces of Eight" refers to all Spanish silver coins that were minted during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The primary denomination, 8 Reales, was equal to one troy ounce of silver. Each had a value of about one month's wages for a sailor in the 1600s. Each coin was hand made and hand cut to achieve desired weight, making each piece one-of-kind in its shape and beauty. Coin enthusiasts may enjoy "Treasure Coins of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha & the Santa Margarita book, by Carol Tedesco" with a special section devoted to the exceedingly rare Old World minted coins discovered on the Atocha and the Santa Margarita.
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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.
]]>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.
As I was about to push off the dive ladder JoArden, tongue in cheek, told me, “Find me a gold chalice!” As incredible as it seems, I followed her order. As soon as I got to the bottom, I saw gold. It looked like a dragon or “maritime dolphin” I stared in awe for about two minutes as the mailboxes gently dust the sand away. What I had first seen was what turned out to be one of the handles of a magnificent intricately smithed, gold poison cup.
When I surfaced with the poison cup the excitement, as you can imagine, was tremendous. Even though the sun had already set everyone was suited up and back in the water within five minutes. The base of the cup which is threaded and actually can be unscrewed from the cup was found about twenty feet away.
A second hurricane that tracked over the Atocha in 1622 was so powerful it had ripped the Atocha apart. The main pile was so heavy that it didn’t move but the upper decks including the forecastle and stern castle were torn from the hull and scattered for several miles ending up in the “Quicksands”. This spot we lovingly refer to as “The Bank of Spain”. During this tremendous storm which mercilessly pounded the ship apart the poison cup had been crushed. We located a gold smith well known for restoring antiques like this. He was an Octogenarian and took most of the rest of the year to restore the cup using only his hands. That’s how pure the gold was.
At the time we didn’t know what we had. I mean we knew we had a beautiful gold cup but it wasn’t until early the next year when brought in numerous experts to examine all of the unique “artifacts of distinction” that we had recovered the previous year that we found out what we had. Priscilla Muller one of the top experts in Hispanic art history and jewelry took one look at it and said, “Oh my goodness, you’ve found a poison cup.” It turns out that in the bottom of the cup was a large mount, around one inch tall that held a bezoar stone.
A bezoar stone comes from the alimentary track of a llama or goat. When arsenic, a common poison in 1622, comes in contact with a bezoar stone the stone would turn dark, warning its owner that someone was trying to poison him. After hearing the story we hired a chemist to see if it was true. It is. they had some pretty sharp people back then to figure that out. We have found numerous bezoar stones on the Atocha and Margarita since then. Some were just loose, found in a wooden box along with some gold chains. Others were in elaborate gold bezels worn on a gold chain around the neck and could be dipped into any cup to test for arsenic.
I hope you enjoyed this tidbit of treasure hunting. I know it is a day that I will never forget.
Today’s the day!
Kim Fisher
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.
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.
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