Treasure Hunters Discover 55-Pound Copper Ingot at Legendary Shipwreck Site

A treasure-hunting crew has recovered a significant 55-pound copper ingot from the legendary Nuestra Señora de Atocha shipwreck, which sank off the Florida Keys in 1622. The find, valued at an estimated $18,000 to $25,000, was made by divers with Mel Fisher's Shipwreck Expeditions.

Captain Drake Nicholas, leading the search, detected a faint signal while retracing an area from the salvage vessel DARE. "Faint hits are always the most exciting because they lead to, you know, stuff very deep in the mud," Nicholas told Fox News Digital. "And I got that very faint hit. I dug down like I always do ... and it got louder, and that's, you know, when the excitement really kicks in."

Nicholas initially mistook the object for a cannon due to its size and coloration but soon realized it was a copper ingot. He explained that copper was a highly valuable commodity in the 17th century, crucial for the Spanish Empire's production of bronze cannons. "It wasn't something [that] an everyday guy could have a stockpile of — it was more for the king and queen to make cannons," he said.

The Nuestra Señora de Atocha sank in a hurricane while en route to Spain, carrying a cargo of silver, gold, and emeralds. Mel Fisher began searching for the wreck in 1969, and his team discovered the main cargo deposit, known as the "Mother Lode," in 1985. The site continues to yield artifacts decades later.

Nicholas expressed optimism that this recent discovery indicates the crew is nearing a larger concentration of treasure. "The size of what we've been finding lately is … leading us to what I believe is the rest of the treasure," he stated. He added that new technology enables the crew to detect targets deeper beneath the mud that covers the wreck site, allowing them to search for more silver bars, copper ingots, and coins. Nicholas is currently pursuing 19 "very interesting, very high-value targets."