The Odyssey discovery of the "Black Swan" 17-ton gold and and silver coin treasure, its recovery and legal battle with Spain over it will air Thursday, April 2, on the Discovery Channel’s "Treasure Quest."
The episode is likely to be the most fascinating of the season, and on Tuesday, excellent background and a preview of what to expect was provided by the TODAY show.
In May 2007, Florida-based deep-sea shipwreck exploration firm Odyssey Marine Exploration recovered the discovered treasure trove at a site the company code-named the "Black Swan." Soon after, a legal battle erupted in Federal court over the ownership of the Colonial-era coins. Read the rest of this entry »
News is abound with Odyssey Marine Exploration’s claim to have discovered HMS Victory, the legendary British warship that disappeared in the English Channel following a 1744 storm.
Odyssey, a deep-sea exploration and treasure-hunting firm, announced their findings last Monday in London. The warship may have been carrying up to 100,000 gold coins weighing four tons before it sank to the sea-floor.
"The money is not as important as the cultural and historical significance of the discovery," Greg Stemm, chief executive officer of Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration said.
"HMS Victory was the mightiest vessel of the 18th Century and the eclectic mix of guns we found on the site will prove essential in further refining our understanding of naval weaponry used during the era."
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Admiral Sir John Balchin’s British warship HMS Victory has been discovered in the English Channel where it fell victim to a 1744 storm, Florida-based deep-ocean shipwreck firm Odyssey Marine Exploration said Monday.
Among other artifacts, accounts say the ship may have carried 100,000 gold coins weighing up to four tons. Odyssey has not specified a value of any items found, saying only its research "indicates that Balchin’s Victory sank with a substantial amount of gold and silver specie aboard."
The legendary warship was the biggest in the world during its day, and mysteriously disappeared with its complement of more than 900 sailors in October 1744.
The HMS Victory shipwreck site was found in May 2008. Odyssey retrieved a brass cannon on the ocean floor and was able to positively identify that it came from the warship, according to a company statement. Read the rest of this entry »
Odyssey Marine Exploration has discovered two more shipwrecks in the north Atlantic Ocean, the company announced this week. The Florida-based underwater salvage company filed admiralty claims for exclusive salvage rights in Tampa federal court Wednesday and released a public statement Friday.
According to Odyssey, the two shipwrecks are steel-hulled, and as yet unidentified. The company said the sites are believed to contain "valuable cargo," that is "beyond the territorial waters or contiguous zone of any sovereign nation" and over 300 miles from the entrance to the English Channel.
Court documents indicate one site is 400 meters below water while the other is 600 meters under, with both resting some 100 miles of the southwest coast of Ireland.
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The Republic of Peru on Tuesday entered the legal fray between Odyssey Marine Exploration and Spain over a 17-ton booty of Colonial-era silver and gold coins discovered at a shipwreck site Odyssey code-named the "Black Swan."
That legal dispute started back in May of 2007 after Odyssey — a Florida based treasure hunting, and deep-sea exploration firm — hauled up over 500,000 silver and gold coins from a 17th-century shipwreck site found on the Atlantic sea floor.
Spain contends the treasure is a part of their country’s cultural heritage and should be returned. Odyssey has said the treasure was found in international waters, and legally retrieved.
The legal battle over the treasure is now pending in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Mark A. Pizzo in Tampa, Florida.
Although not proven, the coin treasure may have come from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish 34-gun frigate that left Peru and was close to home before it was sunk by the British fleet in 1804.
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Tampa treasure hunting firm Odyssey Marine Exploration filed their second 2008 results with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Odyssey reported a decrease of $.6 million in revenue for 2008 that was mostly due to fewer coins sold.
The company provided updates on shipwreck projects, including the 17-ton gold and silver coin find from "Black Swan," the HMS Sussex with a potential cargo of coins, and the high value targets in their "Atlas" Search Project.
Odyssey indicated taping has already begun for the 11-episode primetime TV series for Discovery Channel scheduled to air in early 2009.
Financially, Odyssey’s second quarter revenue fell to $1.1 million compared to $1.7 million in the same period of 2007. The company also reported a net loss of $5.4 million in the second quarter compared with a $6.3 million loss in Q2 of 2007.
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The treasure-hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration filed their first quarterly 2008 report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition to updates on their numerous shipwreck projects, the company reported a first quarter revenue of $.3 million with a net loss of $6.8 million. Those compare to 2007’s reports of $2.2 million and $3.8 million respectively.
Greg Stemm, Odyssey’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented,
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A federal judge moved a legal battle forward by ruling Thursday on several counts between Spain and Odyssey Marine Exploration, a deep-sea treasure-hunting firm based in Tampa, Florida. The legal counts revolved around sites and a shipwreck that yielded a potential $500 million in Colonial-era gold and silver coins.
Odyssey discovered a 17-ton bounty of treasure in the Atlantic Ocean last May and since, has found itself in a contested legal battle with Spain over its ownership.
Odyssey says the 17th-century shipwreck, they code-named the “Black Swan”, was found in international waters and the treasure was legally retrieved. Spain contends the treasure is a part of their country’s cultural heritage and should be returned.
In a written ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday covered six counts. Read the rest of this entry »
