July 31, 1715

On this day in history in 1715 a hurricane hit the east coast of Florida and sunk 10 Spanish treasure ships.

A map of where some of the 1715 ships were wrecked

Sailing for Gold

Beginning in the early 18th century Spain began sending fleets of ships to the Western Hemisphere to bring back their natural resources. This included, of course, their gold and silver. On July 24 ten Spanish ships left Cuba to head back to Europe. A week into their journey there were near modern-day Florida when the winds picked up and hurricane quickly advanced on their position. Each of the Spanish ships, plus one French ship, were wrecked. Between 700 and 1000 people were killed, along with the loss of 120 tons of coins. Spanish officials sent ships to salvage the treasure and within the next year 80% of it was recovered.

Hitting Gold

Coins from the 1715 Spanish fleet

In the 1960s the wrecks were re-discovered by treasure Hunter Kip Wagner. He recovered artifacts from the ships that helped him write a book and open an exhibit, featuring them. Yet the treasure was spread out over miles of Florida's coast and there was still more to be found. In 2015 a group of treasure hunters recovered 350 gold coins from the wrecks, valuing at $4.5 million. The team, known as the Queens Jewels, found the jewels in only 6 feet of water! They now own the exclusive salvaging rights to the 1715 shipwrecks. In 2020 two treasure hunters found an additional 22 Spanish coins on one of Florida's beaches.