Divers Recover 22-Pound Silver Bar From 1622 Shipwreck Site

Divers working with a recovery team located a 22-pound silver bar during a routine mission in waters off the Florida Keys. The artifact is estimated to be worth about $100,000 and is the first silver bar recovered from the site in nearly three decades.

The bar is believed to have come from the remains of a Spanish galleon that sank in September 1622 after a hurricane struck the returning treasure fleet. The vessel was carrying silver, gold, and other goods from Spain's American colonies when it went down in relatively shallow water, scattering its cargo across the seabed.

The main debris field was located in 1985 after a 16-year search. Recovery operations since then have produced hundreds of millions of dollars in artifacts, and teams continue to find new items within the large debris area. Estimates from the recovery organization indicate that more than $120 million in silver, copper ingots, bronze cannons, and other cargo may still lie beneath the seabed.

Each recovered item provides additional information about Spain's colonial trade routes and the volume of wealth shipped across the Atlantic during the early 1600s. Shifting sand and changing currents continue to expose objects that had remained buried for generations.