Friday, March 25, 2011
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Shipwreck experts are evaluating a centuries-old 40-inch gold chain plucked from the sea floor while searching for a 17th-century sunken Spanish galleon off the Florida Keys.
The piece is tentatively valued at about $250,000. It is believed to be from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank during a 1622 hurricane. It was found Wednesday by divers from Mel Fisher’s Treasures about 35 miles west of Key West.
The chain has 55 links, an enameled gold cross and a two-sided engraved religious medallion featuring the Virgin Mary and a chalice.
In 1985, the Fisher crew recovered more than $450 million in artifacts and treasure from the Atocha shipwreck, but part of the ship has not been found.