In a previous blog post we described the historical significance of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha – a famous Spanish fleet ship that was carrying so much gold, silver, and other treasure that its destruction at the hands of a hurricane actually affected the Spanish economy at the time.

When they discovered that the Atocha was lost, the Spanish wasted no time in sending another small fleet to the wreck site at the Dry Tortugas to try and salvage the Atocha’s precious cargo. The wreck site was a relatively shallow part of the ocean – only 55 or so feet deep – so they stood a decent chance at recovering a significant portion of the cargo. Unfortunately, hardly a month after the Atocha sunk, yet another hurricane blew through the area and scattered the cargo and wreckage even further. The Spanish spent years scouring the site trying to recover the Atocha’s lost cargo. They made some headway by recovering nearly half of the Margarita (another ship that sunk alongside the Atocha), but they eventually abandoned the search.

Hundreds of years later in the 1970s, Mel Fisher stepped up to the challenge. He put everything he had into a joint venture to search for the “Atocha Mother Lode” – which lasted 16 years. Finally, after years of painstaking searching, he was finally rewarded in 1985 with one of the greatest sunken treasures ever found. The Atocha Mother Lode that Fisher found included 40 tons of gold and silver – contained 114,000 silver coins, 1,000 silver bars, silver artifacts, gold coins, and a load of very rare Muzo emeralds from Columbia. At the time, the find was valued at $450 million. But it may be worth well more than $600 million by today’s precious metal prices.

Astoundingly, much of the Atocha’s cargo is still missing. The ship’s stern castle, which contained the captain’s quarters and also the most valuables treasures, was never recovered and is still lost at sea. In addition, some 300 silver bars, eight bronze cannons, and other items of “plain” treasure are still unaccounted for. That’s one heck of a sunken treasure!

Mel Fisher is considered among the most famous treasure hunters in American history. He gets most of his notoriety from a single find: the absolutely massive shipwreck of the Spanish galleon, Nuestra Señora de Atocha. But, like all good stories, his should be told from the beginning.

In 1622, the Atocha was a famous Spanish fleet ship with many ports of call. Before its fateful voyage, it had just finished visiting several ports from Columbia to Cuba stocking up on goods (but mostly priceless treasure – including vast amounts of gold and silver) before returning home to Caragena, Spain. Unfortunately, it was making its cargo run during the worst possible time for seafaring: hurricane season.

The Atocha delayed its voyage back to Spain for as long as it could. But eventually, it simply could not wait anymore. It joined up with fleet and set sail – hoping for the best. Unfortunately, a hurricane struck and forced the Atocha among the coral reefs of the Dry Tortugas near the Florida coast. The coral smashed open the hull and sank the ship almost immediately. Only five crewmembers survived among the thrashing, hurricane induced waves. Worse yet, the hurricane scattered the cargo and wreckage.

The loss of the Atocha was a devastating one that had a significant impact on the Spanish economy at the time, the reason being the incredible amount of treasure the Atocha was carrying and the Spanish had been expecting. Just how big was this treasure? Find out in our next blog post.

The Hand of Faith is a special gold nugget on display at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas. This highly valuable specimen travelled a long way to get there.

The Hand of Faith was originally found in Australia – which has a famous reputation for gold nuggets. The country even named one of it’s bullion coins the “Australian Gold Nugget.” Kevin Hillier discovered the Hand with his metal detector near Kingower, Victoria in 1980. His metal detector must have been shooting off the charts when it passed over the famous nugget. The Hand of Faith was only about a foot beneath the ground, resting in a vertical position – almost like hands together, fingers pointed in prayer. When excavated, the nugget was a whopping 874.82 troy ounces.

Shortly after its discovery, the Hand of Faith was auctioned off and the Golden Nugget casino put in the winning bid, which was speculated to be about $1 million. According to present day gold prices, the Hand of Faith may be worth as much as $1.4 million, depending on its millesimal fineness.

Currently, the Golden Nugget proudly displays the Hand Faith for all its guests. It holds the world record for largest gold nugget ever discovered by a metal detector.