Gold Coins
A group of treasure hunters says they have found 48 gold coins reportedly worth hundreds of thousands of dollars buried in the sand in Florida's "Treasure Coast," where eleven Spanish ships laden with gold sank in 1715. Courtesy Brent Brisben/1715 Queens Fleet Jewels

Treasure hunters have uncovered a massive fortune off the Florida coast where 11 Spanish ships loaded with gold sank in the year 1715.

WPTV reports Captain Greg Bounds and his crew were on the "Capitana" this past Saturday doing a routine treasure hunt when they uncovered 48 gold coins buried in the sand. The treasure is estimated to be worth approximately $250,000.

"You go out every day, hoping that it's gonna happen, and a lot of times it doesn't," Bounds said. "But when it does, it's just amazing, the feeling that you get."

Brent Brisben, the man who owns 1715 Fleet Queen's Jewels and the salvage rights to the shipwrecks they hunt, described to WPTV what led Bounds and his crew to an area off Florida's Wabasso Beach that is commonly referred to as the “Treasure Coast.”

"Eleven Spanish galleons, loaded with treasure, were sunk along the coastline out here by a hurricane [in 1715]," said Brisben. "That's what gives us the Treasure Coast."

Brisben said finding the gold coins from ships that wrecked almost 300 years ago is exhilarating.

"To see [Bounds] come up out of the water, and over the rail, I'll never forget, he waves us in," recalled Brisben. "He says, 'I think I got one more,' and he drops about 15 in my hand."

This is the third recent discovery for the 1715 Treasure Fleet Queen's Jewels salvage company.

In July of 2010, the company found a bronze swivel gun packed full of gold and silver coins. One month later, the company unearthed a solid gold bird statue from 1715 that has since been appraised at $885,000.

Treasure hunters hit jackpot off Florida Coast

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