Apr

THE 1715 FLEET DISASTER

Every year, two fleets traveled between Spain and the Americas; the Esquadron de Terra Firme from Spain to South America, and the Flota de Nova Espana toward Vera Cruz. Sometimes, these two fleets would travel together all the way to the Caribbean. The return voyage was more dangerous.

The Spanish 1715-Fleet disaster was probably the greatest to befall any of the Spanish treasure fleets in terms of casualties and money, with reports of a loss of 14 million pesos and as many as 1,000 or more lives. The modern salvage of this fleet, begun in the early 1960s and ongoing today has been the largest single source of gold cobs ever in the numismatic market, turning former rarities and unknown issues into collectible and popular commodities.

On July 31, 1715, seven days after departing from Havana, Cuba, all 11 ships of this 1715 treasure fleet were lost in a hurricane near present day Florida. The fleet was carrying silver and also known as the "1715 plata treasure fleet" or "1715 plate treasure fleet". Some artifacts and even coins still wash up on Florida beaches from time to time.

According to some reports, the French ship, which had sailed slightly farther to the east, escaped the storm. But in any case, all 11 Spanish ships were caught in the thick of it. Before the hurricane had passed, 10 of the 11 ships had sunk, most of them dashed against the reefs just offshore. The final ship managed to anchor safely, but sank the following day in another storm.

Over the next three years, the Spanish government sent numerous salvage vessels to recover what they could of the lost treasure; looters and pirates also flocked to the site. Conveniently, some of the ships had run aground or sunk in water so shallow that part of the hull was still visible above the waterline. By 1720, Spain gave up on any further salvage attempts, and the exact locations of the ships—which still contained many millions of dollars worth of treasure—were lost.

In 1928, the wreckage of one of the ships was discovered by a diver just 200 yards offshore. Then, in the 1960s, a contractor named Kip Wagner began to search for the other ships in earnest, and eventually succeeded in rediscovering several of them—and recovering a huge amount of gold and silver.