![]() ![]() The legend, if complete, reads “PHILIPPVS II (III) DEI GRATIA,” meaning “Philip II (III) by the Grace of God.” The reverse has a cross with castles and lions in the quarters, signifying the union of the two Iberian Peninsula kingdoms of Leon and Castile, which united in 1301 and began the Reconquista of Iberia from the Moors, the Muslim rulers who had invaded from North Africa in 711. They bear a simplified Hapsburg shield on the obverse. Most of the coins recovered from Atocha were minted in the New World mints of Potosi, Upper Peru (present day Bolivia), and Mexico City, New Spain (present day Mexico), during the reigns of Philip II (1556-1598) and Philip III (1598-1621). Then, on July 20th, 1985, ten years to the day of the Northwind tragedy, Mel Fisher’s words rang true! He and his crew discovered the “mother load” of Atocha’s vast treasure, by some estimates, worth over $400 million! The court ordered 25 percent be turned over to the State of Florida, but Fisher and his backers could keep the rest. But Atocha’s “mother load” still eluded the salvors, and through it all, Fisher and his crew persisted with dogged determination. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Fisher on July 1, 1982. The government didn’t care when Fisher lost family members, but when he started to find pieces of Atocha’s treasure, they swooped in and claimed it all for themselves! After eight years of expensive legal battles, the U.S. But that wasn’t the only hardship Fisher and his crew had to endure. Six years into the search he lost his eldest son, Dirk, Dirk’s wife, Angel, and crew member Rick Gage when their salvage vessel, Northwind, capsized. No human eyes saw the treasure again, until Mel Fisher began to pick up pieces of her King’s ransom in precious cargo in 1971. PHOTO: Robert with Mel Fisher at a museum opening in Key Largo, 1991. The wreck itself was scattered after another hurricane hit the site exactly one month later, so the Spanish were never able to salvage what was one of the richest galleons ever to sail. Only five people survived from Atocha and were saved by another vessel. Eight ships of the 28-ship fleet were lost, wrecked on the reefs between the Dry Tortugas and present day Key West. “TODAY’S THE DAY!” That was the phrase Mel Fisher used to tell his divers every day, for 16 years, while he led them on a search through the waters off Key West, Florida for the elusive Spanish galleon, Nuestra Senora de Atocha.Ītocha was the almiranta (rear guard ship) of the 1622 Treasure Fleet, which left Havana several weeks late, causing them to run into the jaws of a hurricane on September 6, 1622. The most famous Spanish galleon discovery in history ![]()
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