Is the Shipwrecked $500 Million Coin Treasure Up for Grabs?

   

A week ago we discussed the Spanish seizure of an Odyssey Marine Exploration ship. For a recap, Odyssey is a Florida-based treasure hunting company that found over 17 tons of Colonial-era gold and silver coins - a sunken treasure that could perhaps be the largest find in history; perhaps worth up to $500 million.

Odyssey states the treasure was from a sunken ship in international waters and believes they’re legally sound on all possible fronts. Spanish authorities contended the find was from a Spanish ship or taken from Spanish waters.

The Spanish government has again pulled out the legal gunships and is targeting Odyssey in court, alleging the treasure came from a Spanish military vessel. If that were the case, the treasure would become Spain’s under international law, or so they say. Spanish lawyers are now trying to get access to all of Odyssey’s data to back up their assertions.

We’ll continue to watch and see how this shakes out. For video news reports of this story, view the Shipwreck Coin Video Series.