“PIECES of eight, pieces of eight…” Spanish authorities are counting their coffers, after some old coins worth almost $500 million finally arrived in Madrid after a five year legal battle. The treasure was recovered from a sunken warship after lying deep underwater for more than two centuries. US salvage firm...
“PIECES of eight, pieces of eight…”
Spanish authorities are counting their
coffers, after some old coins worth almost
$500 million finally arrived in Madrid after a
five year legal battle.
The treasure was recovered from a sunken
warship after lying deep underwater for
more than two centuries.
US salvage firm Odyssey Marine recovered
the gold from the wreck of the Nuestra
Senora de las Mercedes, a 49 gun frigate
which sank off Cadiz in 1804 during a battle
with British warships.
The Spanish government took the
company to court and won, claiming that it,
and not the salvage company, was the
rightful owner of the cargo and the ship.
“For Spain, this sunken ship, this
archaeological site, is still a warship and we
still have jurisdiction over what has
happened to it,” said a lawyer for Spain.
Odyssey said it would abide by the ruling
even though it “flies in the face of all legal
precedent”.
