It was July 31,1715 and twelve ships filled with treasures plundered from the Americas were bound for Spain. They had sailed from Havana, Cuba some seven days earlier and were following up the Florida coastline to catch the trade winds that would sail them back to Europe. But on that fateful day a hurricane struck and at two in the morning. Eleven of the twelve ships were slammed into the reefs off the shores of Florida. Over 1,500 sailors died and the treasure was lost to the reefs and the ocean. The twelfth ship was lucky enough to survive and report the tragedy to king of Spain.
The storm surge was so great that it even pushed part of the treasure past the beaches and into the mangrove swamps further inland. The areas of Florida where the wrecks occurred and now referred to as the treasure coast. There's a good reason for this because along the beaches after strong storms gold and silver coins wash up onto the beach and can found with metal detectors.
One professional treasure hunter by the name of Gary Drayton was among the first to begin searching the inland mangrove swaps theorizing that treasure had been washed there during the hurricane. He has found countless treasures from the lost fleet including a gold and emerald ring worth an estimated $250,000 US. Not a bad pay day if don't mind the mosquitos and alligators!
tvovermind.com
Jonah Martinez is another treasure hunter who focuses on certain beaches along the treasure coast. Over the last 20 years he has found over $15,000,000 US in artifacts combing the beaches after strong storms and hurricanes. On one day in 2020 he found 22 silver coins that had washed up in a strong storm. They may not look all that impressive at first glance but are estimated to be worth $6,000 US.
CBS AFFILIATE WPEC-TV
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2020/03/10/coins-florida-beach/
I have tried my luck along the treasure coast before myself walking away with absolutely nothing. Many treasure hunters keep the beaches they search secret not wanting us novices walking away with all the loot. The red area in the map below is considered the treasure coast of Florida. That is the "sweet" spot if you want to try your luck searching the beaches for some 300 year old silver and gold.
Image by Privitor CC by 3.0
There are some rules to keep in mind though. Don't go onto private property without permission. You aren't allowed the detect below the high tide line on the beach because anything in the water or even the wet sand belongs to the state of Florida. National parks are no go zone as well as some state parks, so do your research before wandering into a prohibited search zone. Other than that just enjoy the day at the beach searching for lost treasure, you never know what you may find!
If you are even more adventurous and brave you can try the mangrove swamps as well. Personally I'm afraid of alligators and snakes so you won't be finding me in there! Treasure hunting is a lot of fun, just follow the rules and stay safe while you're searching!
I haven't done a treasure hunting post in quite awhile now so I thought it might be fun to remind everyone that there is literally lost treasure all around the world, all you have to do is look for it and get lucky!
That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed my post and maybe even found some inspiration to do some treasure hunting of your own. I want to thank all of my kind supporters here on Hive, I really appreciate your friendship and kindness. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments feel free to leave them below and thanks for stopping by to read my post!
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1715_Treasure_Fleet
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2020/03/10/coins-florida-beach/
tvovermind.com
Now for the winner of the re-blog lottery! Today we had 28 people re-blog my post, thank you so much! The people who re-blogged were:
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Good luck to everyone!
And the Wheel of Names results:
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I just sent over the funds for your 3 HSBI units!
Now for today's re-blog lottery! You just need to re-blog my post you will be placed on the Wheel of Names for a spin to possibly win 3 HSBI units! Just one prize for the lucky winner. An upvote is not required but is always greatly appreciated to help me fund higher prizes in the future. Bots aren't allowed to enter please. Contest ends at 14:00 (2 PM) California Pacific time tomorrow. If I somehow missed your re-blog please let me know and I'll add you to the next draw.
What are HSBI units? They are units that you can purchase to sponsor someone and you in turn receive a unit as well. This way we both benefit! They give you occasional upvotes on your posts for a lifetime, and the more you accumulate the more often you receive upvotes and the bigger they can be. You can read some more here:
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