The Atocha - 1622

Atocha - 1622
Nuestra Señora de Atocha ("Our Lady of Atocha") was the most famous of a fleet of Spanish ships that sank in 1622 off the Florida Keys while carrying copper, silver, gold, tobacco, gems, jewels, jewelry, and indigo from Spanish ports at Cartagena and Porto Bello in New Granada (current Colombia and Panama, respectively) and Havana bound for Spain. The ship was named for the parish of Atocha in Madrid.

An unfortunate series of complications kept the Atocha in Veracruz before she could rendezvous in Havana with the vessels of the Tierra Firme (Mainland) Fleet. The treasure arriving by mule to Panama City was so immense that summer in 1622 that it took 2 months to record and load the precious cargo on the "Atocha". After still more delays in Havana, what was ultimately a 28-ship convoy did not manage to depart for Spain until September 4, 1622, six weeks behind schedule. Claimed to be on the manifest was 100 gold bars, 180,000 silver coins & 24Tons of silver bullion

On September 6, the Atocha was driven by a severe hurricane onto the coral reefs near the Dry Tortugas, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Key West. With her hull badly damaged, the vessel quickly sank, drowning everyone on board except for three sailors and two slaves. It sank in only 50' of water. Along with sinking the Atocha was the sinking of 7 other ships, one of which was the Santa Margurita killing 143 of her 211 passengers & crew. In 1980 Mel Fisher & his crews found a potion of the hull of the Santa Margurita along with $50mil in gold bars, silver and gold coins. Assisted in the Mel Fisher dives is a boat called The Blue Water Rose.

American treasure hunter Mel Fisher and a team of sub-contractors, funded by investors and others in a joint venture, searched the sea bed for the Atocha for 16 and a half years; Fisher had earlier recovered portions of the wrecked cargo of the sister ship Santa Margarita in 1980. He also proposed the idea to several other potential helpers who were discouraged by the fact that this dangerous professional diving job was at minimum wage unless the ship was found. The Atocha wreck and its mother lode of silver, gold, and emeralds was finally discovered in the spring of 1971. It was Mel's son, Kane, who radioed the news to Treasure Salvors headquarters on the Florida coast, from the salvage boat Dauntless. It is understood by experts that The Sterncastle, the part of the ship that would hold most of the gold and rare Muzo emeralds, is still missing from the shipwreck. These and other valuable items would have been stored in the Captain's cabin for safekeeping in the rear part of the Atocha.

The salvaged coins, both gold and silver, were minted primarily between 1598 and 1621, although numerous earlier dates were represented too, some of the dates extending well back into the 16th century. Many of the dates and types of the period had been either rare or unknown prior to the salvage of the wreck.

In June 2011, treasure divers from Mel Fisher's Treasure found an antique emerald ring believed to be from the Spanish boat. It is said the ring is worth an estimated $500,000. The ring was found 35 miles from Key West, along with two silver spoons and other artifacts.

Since the recovery, many jewelry and tourism-businesses have attempted to create pendants, bracelets, and rings out of both genuine and replica coins from the Atocha wreck. Framed in both gold and silver, many of the coin pieces are made with actual silver found in the Atocha motherload. Often, these come with "certificates of authenticity" containing the silver bar manifest number used in its creation. On the internet can be found some of these authentic silver pieces for less than $30.

After the discovery, the State of Florida claimed title to the wreck and forced Fisher into a contract giving 25% of the found treasure to the state. After eight years of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Fisher on July 1, 1982. The find was claimed to be worth approx. $400mil. Fisher died on December 19, 1998.

On another YouTube site showing Sean Fisher (the grandson of Mel Fisher) said that the mother load of the Atocha Shipwreck was found July 20, 1985 on the vessel named: The J B Macgruder. According to this report the treasure found was 200 lbs in gold bars and discs, 300 emeralds, 114,000 loose silver coins and over 30Tons of silver bars and many gold chains. The entire find filled a 2,500 page inventory list. It is claimed that based on the manifest log of the Atocha that there are still hundreds of millions of dollars still out there that has not been found according to Gary Randolph VP and Director of Operations for Mel Fishers Treasures. This remaining part of the Mother Load has been dubbed The Other Mother. The story is found here on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS0MKmW_SGQ

Here are some YouTube sites that discuss these finds in http://www.AquaSurvey.com:
The Spanish Ship Atocha Shipwreck Found - Gold Treasure Discovery - Mel Fisher Story 9.54min claiming some 47tons of gold & silver. Meritime Museum may be located in Keywest Florida. Also www.MelFisher.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNdi4pbUIwc
Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum 8.57min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b83vOGd2nac&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Atocha Episode 1 1.43min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXN4idWDGHI&feature=related
Atocha Episode 2 3.41min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id-A_EMtGCM&feature=relmfu
Atocha Episode 3 5.18min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPnrDEwjtDM&feature=relmfu
Atocha diver Bill Moore recovered more than 165 pounds of gold in one day which included 77gold bars, 7gold disc & 7gold chains all in varying sizes and weights. Mel Fisher died in 1998 but never found the other mother load.