A family of treasure hunters found $300,000 in gold coins and chains off the coast of Fort Pierce, Flo.
Fox News reports that Rick Schmitt, wife Lisa and their two grown children found the gold only 150 yards off the coast. “This is like the end of a dream,” Rick told the Sun-Sentinel.
1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC run by Brent Brisben own the rights to the wreckage that the Schmitt’s treasure is from.
The treasure, including 64 feet of gold chains, several gold coins and a gold ring, were part of convoy of 11 ships heading to Spain from Havana that sank during a hurricane in 1715. Only $175 million of the reported $400 million worth of treasure has ever been found.
This treasure was also the focus of two movies, a 1877 film The Deep and Fool’s Gold from 2008.
According to Nature World News, this isn’t the first time the Schmitt family has discovered treasure. One find only netted them a single gold coin, while another was a $25,000 300-year-old Mexican silver platter.
Fox News notes that while the majority of the find will be split between the Schmitt family and Brisben, up to 20 percent will go to Florida to be displayed in a museum.