Treasure divers with Mel Fisher’s Shipwreck Expeditions recently recovered a 22.5-pound silver bar from the wreck site of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, marking the first silver bar recovered by the Fisher team from the site since June 1999.
The silver bar was recovered by captain Drake Nicholas and the crew of the salvage vessel Dare while working an active search area on the Atocha wreck site in about 50 feet of water off the Florida Keys. The find is one of the most significant recoveries from the site in decades. Drake personally brought the artifact to the surface.
The recovery comes nearly 404 years after the Spanish galleon sank during a hurricane in September 1622. The vessel was carrying an immense cargo of silver, gold, emeralds, coins, religious artifacts and other valuable goods bound for Spain when it was lost in a hurricane in the waters off the Keys.
“This discovery is a powerful reminder that the Atocha still holds secrets after decades of salvage,” said Gary Randolph, president of Mel Fisher’s Shipwreck Expeditions. “Captain Drake, lead diver Blake Baker, and the crew of the Dare continue the legacy of Mel Fisher’s ‘Today’s the Day’ spirit. Every discovery like this advances our understanding of maritime history while fueling the sense of adventure and exploration that has defined this work in the Florida Keys for generations. The Atocha is not finished telling her story.”
The silver bar remains heavily encrusted after more than four centuries beneath the sea. One visible feature is an assayer’s scoop, a section removed from the top of the bar during the Spanish colonial period to verify that the bar was solid silver throughout and not merely plated on the outside. The artifact will undergo extensive documentation, conservation and authentication procedures that may reveal additional markings and historical details.
The Atocha became one of the most famous shipwrecks in the world when Fisher and his team discovered the vessel’s legendary, $400 million mother lode of treasure in 1985 after a 16-year search. That discovery is widely regarded as one of the most significant treasure recoveries in modern history.
Since the discovery, thousands of artifacts have been recovered, while substantial portions of the documented and undocumented cargo remain unrecovered, including silver coins, silver bars, gold artifacts, jewelry and emeralds from Colombia’s Muzo mines.
“This silver bar is a remarkable piece of history in its own right, but it also renews interest in the area where it was found,” Randolph said. “After 27 years without recovering a silver bar from the Atocha site, this discovery reminds us that some of the most exciting chapters of the search may still lie ahead.”
