Spanish galleon gives up more secrets

Divers have recovered treasure from the wreck of a Spanish galleon off the Florida coast.

A team of divers working on the site have recently recovered a large emerald ring and two silver spoons.

They work for Mel Fisher’s Treasure, a salvage company excavating the shipwreck site since 1969.

The remains are believed to be the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a ship that has been giving up precious artefacts since the mid-eighties.

Spanish vessel Atocha was homeward bound loaded with gold and silver from the New World when it sank and broke up in a hurricane not far from Key West in September 1622.

Sean Fisher, grandson of the late founder, said he believes the latest haul signals they are close to finding the sterncastle, a key missing portion of the ship.

In September 1985 Mel Fisher and his cohorts found the bulk of the ship. It gave up 40 tonnes of gold and silver, today estimated to be worth $500 million.

In the four centuries since the ship sank, currents and hurricanes have moved the broken parts around over a large area.

But the ongoing search is proving its worth, with the large square gold-mounted emerald ring valued at half a million dollars alone.