18th-Century Spanish Shipwreck Has $17 Billion Worth of Coins And Gems Aboard

The location of one of the world's most valuable wrecks was unknown for nearly three centuries.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, the British navy sank the San Jose galleon, which was carrying a huge amount of treasure.

An estimated 200 tons of treasure, including gold coins, silver coins, and emeralds, are thought to have been carried on the ship.

Gold coins found in the San Jose shipwreck. (Armada de Colombia)

The location of the wreck, which was found off the coast of Cartagena in 2015, has not been made public.

Previously unseen footage and images of the wreck were released in a press conference by the president.

Chinese ceramics, gold coins, swords, and cannons were found in the images.

Chinese crockery found in the San Jose shipwreck. (Armada de Colombia)

The idea is to recover it and to have sustainable financing mechanisms for the future. The patrimony of the San Jose galleon is protected in this manner.

State-of-the-art equipment descended around 3,280 feet to take the video and images.

The cannons were manufactured in Spain in 1655 according to the statement.

The discovery of gold coins was typical of the time.

Monitoring of the wreck led to the discovery of two more wrecks, one of which is thought to be from the 1800s.

A cannon found in the San Jose shipwreck. (Armada de Colombia)

The San Jose wreck has been the subject of a legal battle since it was discovered.

The wreck and its contents have been claimed by the state by virtue of the Submerged Cultural Heritage Law signed by the former president.

Spain staked a claim that the ship was theirs and cited the UNESCO convention on underwater cultural heritage.

Many of the valuables on the ship were likely to have been stolen from South American countries, making it even more complicated to resolve the issue.

The original article was published by Business Insider.

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