Salvage crews find wreck of legendary British warship HMS Victory

Yahoo! Canada News
Sun Feb 1, 2009

“TAMPA, Fla. – Florida deep-sea explorers who found $500 million in sunken treasure two years ago say they have discovered another prized shipwreck: A legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago.

Odyssey Marine Exploration hasn’t found any gold this time, but it’s looking for an even bigger jackpot. The company’s research indicates HMS Victory was carrying almost four tonnes of gold coins that could be worth considerably more than the treasure that Odyssey raised from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007, co-founder Greg Stemm said ahead of a news conference set for Monday in London.”

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Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
By MARY FLOOD Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Dec. 30, 2008

“Treasure hunter Nathan Smith testified today that he not only used Google to spot a buried treasure in South Texas but he also checks updated satellite images to monitor whether anyone else is snooping around the possible loot.

Smith, a 39-year-old musician from Los Angeles, was on the stand for the second day in a trial to determine whether he has title to what may be a 19th century boat and its supposed cargo of gold and silver along the Texas Gulf coast. This case is one step in a long process to get permission to dig, then there will be more legal fights over who owns anything he finds.”

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BBC NEWS | UK | England | South Yorkshire
17 September 2008

“A rare Saxon artifact found by a metal detector enthusiast from South Yorkshire is expected to fetch up to 15,000 pounds (US $27,300) at auction.

Tim Pearson thought the 9th Century gold pointer was a milk bottle top when he made the discovery while treasure hunting in Aughton near Rotherham.

Three years on the relic has been valued at 10,000 to 15,000 pounds by Bonhams Auctioneers, which will sell it.

The item, known as an aestel, was used by monks to help read manuscripts.”

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BY EMILY ZEUGNER
Associated Press Writer
Friday, June 06, 2008

“Last summer Roy Evans, history buff, outdoorsman and “amateur treasure hunter,” set off in search of buried riches.

Five hours a day, he scoured the fine, white sands of Georgia’s Tybee Island and within a week he’d struck gold: 23 separate pieces including two crosses, 12 rings, a handful of medallions and broaches and one chain necklace — a bounty worth several thousand dollars at least.”

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Yahoo! News
Thu Jun 5, 2008

“LONDON, June 5, 2008 (AFP) – An ancient gold cup mysteriously acquired by a British scrap metal dealer and kept in a shoe box for years by its unwitting owner sold for 50,000 pounds (63,000 euros, 98,000 dollars) Thursday.

The 5.5-inch (14-centimetre) object — which is decorated with the heads of two women looking in opposite directions and knotted snakes — went under the hammer in Dorchester, southwest England.”

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Hunt continues for Nazi treasure

Yahoo! News
Tue Feb 26, 2008

“DEUTSCHKATHARINENBERG, Germany – German treasure hunters were to begin digging Tuesday for what they claim to be plunder buried by the Nazis in a man-made cavern near the Czech border.

The area’s mayor, Hans-Peter Haustein, and a man who found the coordinates for the buried booty in a notebook among his deceased father’s belongings, maintain that a scan of the spot has revealed that a large quantity of metal is about 20 yards below the surface. They believe it to be either gold or silver, based on the scan with a sophisticated metal detector.

…Haustein said last week that he was convinced they had found the storied Amber Room treasure, but later acknowledged that while there could be “cultural treasures” in the cavern, such as paintings or amber paneling, they are not things that show up with a metal detector.

The Amber Room — named for magnificent wall panels of golden-brown amber – was stolen by the Nazis from a palace outside St. Petersburg during World War II and has never been recovered in its entirety.”

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UPDATE:
Nazi gold hunt ends, treasure hunter claims

CNN.com
Frederik Pleitgen
February 28, 2008

“(CNN) — Treasure hunter Christian Hanisch told CNN Thursday (Feb 28, 2008) that the hunt for Nazi Gold and possibly the legendary Amber Room will end Friday after the two men leading the expedition had a disagreement.

Heinz-Peter Haustein, the other treasure hunter, told Germany’s Bild newspaper that geophysicists will now re-evaluate the situation and that digging may resume in two weeks. CNN has so far not been able to reach Haustein for confirmation.

“Haustein told me to get out of here immediately,” an angry Hanisch told CNN in a telephone interview.”

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Inquirer
Mon, Apr. 02, 2007
By Kathleen McGrory
Miami Herald

“The expedition’s catalyst was a retired sailor’s story of viewing some cannons underwater.

HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. – The boat is rumbling, and the coffee is hot and sweet.

It’s the only way to hunt for treasure – or so says Doug Pope.

Pope has spent the last few weeks on a 71-foot treasure-recovery boat called the Polly-L. He is hoping to find a Spanish galleon that may have wrecked off the coast of Hutchinson Island in 1715.”

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Clues to Pirate Gold Unearthed in Florida, Treasure Hunters Claim

Willie Drye in Fowler’s Bluff, Florida
for National Geographic News
March 15, 2007

“Treasure hunters digging on a remote bluff overlooking Florida’s Suwannee River claim they have found tantalizing evidence that pirate gold might be at the bottom of a muddy, 13-foot (4-meter) hole.

“We’ve found mahogany wood samples, flecks of gold, and gold all over the diver’s dive suit [after diving in the hole],” said Tommy Todd, a St. Petersburg landscaper who owns the property being excavated.”

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The Scotsman
CRAIG BROWN

“THREE divers landed the catch of a lifetime when they discovered a 19th century Italian sculpture worth thousands of pounds buried in the silt beneath Scottish waters.

Experts have identified the marble piece found in the Firth of Clyde as a bust of a woman by Rinaldo Rinaldi, a renowned 19th century artist.

…Historians say the statue is likely to have come from a 130-year-old shipwreck. The area is also known to have once been used by smugglers, and the remains of abandoned vessels are scattered around the seabed.”

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MiamiHerald.com
06/10/2006
BY SHARON WERNLUND
The Palm Beach Post

“A treasure hunter who got his start with the legendary Mel Fisher says his underwater exploration has turned into a lucrative profession.

FORT PIERCE – Fresh from a special trip to his bank vault, John Brandon, captain of the Endeavor, shows a smidgen of his treasure from sunken Spanish galleons.

Gold doubloons and silver coins are clustered with gold bars that cast a mesmerizing glow. Made of bronze but no less magnificent is a rare astrolabe, dated 1602, that was used for navigation to the New World.”

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