The Nuestra Señora de Atocha sank in 1622 while transporting a treasure of gold, silver, and emeralds back to Spain.
In September 1622, the treasure ship Nuestra Señora de Atocha sank near the Florida Keys, USA. Today, the recovered cargo valued at $1.1 billion, including an emerald cross, a royal globe, and gold rings set with gems, is on display in New York, according to Ancient Origins.
The emerald cross recovered from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. (Photo: The Rosen Group).
On September 4, 1622, Tierra Firme, a treasure fleet consisting of 20 ships loaded with Spanish goods, departed from the port of Havana in Cuba to return home. The next day, a storm swept through the Florida Straits, sinking eight of those ships.
As the protective ship in the rear, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha (“Lady Atocha”) carried 265 people aboard. The hull was filled with a vast amount of cargo looted from Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Venezuela. The cargo included 24 tons of silver divided into 1,038 bars, 180,000 silver coins, 582 bronze bars, 125 gold bars and plates, 350 chests of indigo, 525 bales of tobacco, 20 bronze cannons, and 544 kg of silver artifacts. Additionally, many other items, including jewelry and personal goods, were smuggled to evade taxes.
On October 5, 1622, a second storm struck and destroyed the Atocha. For the next 60 years, Spanish salvage experts searched for the wreck but were unsuccessful. In 1969, a treasure hunter named Mel Fisher in Florida began a 16-year quest to find the Atocha. In 1973, he and his team discovered three gold bars matching the recorded weight and count aboard the Atocha. By July 1985, most of the treasure was found in the ship’s main hull, including nearly 32 kg of Colombian emeralds, 180,000 silver coins, 24 tons of Bolivian silver, 125 gold bars, and a collection of Venezuelan pearls.
Today, a large number of artifacts from the Atocha and the Margarita are displayed at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Many of these artifacts are emerald-encrusted items sourced from the Muzo mine in Colombia. Although some items were damaged when they fell into the sea, three pieces of jewelry recovered from the wreck remain in nearly perfect condition: the royal globe, the Atocha ring, and the Atocha cross.
The Atocha Cross features nine polished emeralds set on a 24K gold cross, while the royal globe, likely sourced from Colombia, consists of 37 Muzo emeralds set on a 22K gold base. The Atocha ring is made of gold and features an emerald weighing approximately 2.5 carats.
