Historical gold coins salvaged from the legendary sunken vessel disclose 3-century-old illustrations featuring castles, lions, and Jerusalem crosses.
Chatterin' About the Treasure of the San José
Yo ho ho, matey! Our favorite pirate tale has seen some new developments. Recent findings off the Colombian coast suggest the gold coins under the "world's richest shipwreck" are indeed from the long-lost Spanish galleon San José.
Remember that gem of a vessel that sank in a cannon duel with British warships back in 1708? Laden with up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and uncut gemstones, it's no wonder that the treasure's present-day value might soar up to an impressive $17 billion.
Colombia's government dreams of showcasing some of these artifacts in a future museum. But other claimants with an eye for the gold pop up regularly, including Spain, who argue the wrecks of their naval vessels, regardless of age, still belong to them.
A fresh study, published in the journal Antiquity and led by maritime archaeologist Daniela Vargas Ariza, helps clear things up. Using underwater cameras, researchers examined images of coins scattered around the wreck site, at a depth of approximately 1,970 feet (600 meters).
In 2015, the San José was found near Cartagena in the Colombian Caribbean, and the observations were made during four dives in 2021 and 2022. According to the team, the coins and debris near the wreck line up with the 1708 disaster of the San José.
There, they unearthed dozens of rough gold coins, with roughly 32.5mm in diameter and about 27 grams in weight, resembling the classic pirate doubloon. The coins boasted intricate designs: one side featured a Jerusalem cross and a Spanish coat of arms, while the other showed the Crowned Pillars of Hercules.
Some coins even bore distinctive marks made by assayers from Lima, Peru, during the minting process in 1707. By cross-referencing their findings with colonial records, the archaeologists confirmed these coins hailed from the San José.
It looks like there's plenty more for historians to unearth, but it seems Colombia and Spain can't seem to agree on who gets to wield the shovel. Legal battles aside—time to roll those doubloons, hurry up and bury that gold, ye mateys!
Bonus Tidbits:
- A hoard of gold and jewels was discovered from a 366-year-old shipwreck in the Bahamas.
- Ming dynasty shipwrecks in the South China Sea are brimming with buried treasure.
- Coins worth over $1 million were recovered from 1715 Spanish treasure shipwrecks in Florida.
- Pirates plundered their fair share of treasure in history, too. Want to know more about their booty? Just ask!
In the realm of technology and self-development, historians have utilized underwater cameras to analyze and verify the artifacts found in the San José shipwreck, providing new insights about this ancient treasure (Antiquity journal). Now, as the legal battles continue between Colombia and Spain, enthusiasts of education-and-self-development can delve deeper into pirate lore, uncovering fascinating tales of treasures buried beneath the ocean waves, from the Gold Rush in the Bahamas to the Ming dynasty shipwrecks in the South China Sea (pirate booty).
