Florida authorities have recovered a collection of gold coins from an 18th-century Spanish convoy stolen in 2015.
The 37 gold coins were stolen from a Spanish treasure fleet in 1715 and have a total value of $1 million, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. press release.
The 1715 Fleet was a combination of two different groups of Spanish ships, all under one command, returning to Spain after a successful treasure hunt. The fleet fell victim to a hurricane and crashed somewhere off the coast of Florida. All their loot, including coins, sank to the bottom of the sea.
Exactly 300 years later, in 2015, 101 gold coins were discovered by the Schmidt family on the aptly named Treasure Coast of Florida. The family worked specifically to recover treasure from the Spanish Fleet and named the LLC 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels.
However, only 51 coins were recorded, and the remaining 50 remained unresolved.
“While 51 of these coins were accurately reported and adjudicated, 50 coins were not disclosed and were subsequently stolen,” the FWC wrote.
The robbery sparked an FBI investigation into Eric Schmidt, one of the family members involved in the discovery. The investigation specifically looked into the “illegal sale of multiple stolen gold coins between 2023 and 2024.”
“Detectives executed multiple search warrants and recovered coins from homes, safe deposit boxes, and auctions,” the press release said.
Conservation committee displayed on the table. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
“The five stolen coins were recovered from a Florida-based auctioneer who unknowingly purchased them from Eric Schmidt.”
Schmidt also allegedly took three of the gold coins he did not report and threw them into the ocean “for discovery by Queen's Jewels LLC, a new investor in the 1715 fleet.”
Still, 13 of the coins are still missing. The FWC wrote that the discovery of 37 of the items “marks a major milestone in a years-long investigation into the theft and illegal trade of these priceless historical artifacts.”
