Deep-sea expedition recovers treasures from 300-year-old shipwreck believed to contain $17–$20 billion in today’s money: Details explored

Continued deep-sea expeditions in Colombia have unearthed a centuries-old shipwreck. Colombian authorities are now reporting that the artefacts uncovered in the process hold a staggering value. The wreckage in question is believed to be remnants of a Spanish galleon vessel named the San José.

As per CNN, experts estimate that the shipwreck is more than 300 years old and that the vessel was sunk in battle somewhere in the Caribbean during the War of the Spanish Succession. What is truly incredible is that the combined value of the pieces unearthed to date is estimated to be in the billions.

Colombian Minister of Culture Yannai Kadamani Fonrodona shared the following statement on the find:

“This historic event demonstrates the strengthening of the Colombian State’s technical, professional, and technological capabilities to protect and promote Underwater Cultural Heritage, as part of Colombian identity and history.”

Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History director Alhena Caicedo Fernández was excited about the recovered artefacts:

“Opens the possibility for citizens to approach, through material testimony, the history of the San José galleon.”

As per Dexerto, items confirmed to have been salvaged from the shipwreck include a porcelain cup, coins, and a bronze cannon.

The shipwreck found in Colombia is currently under legal dispute

While the Colombian government maintains that it deserves full ownership and responsibility for the contents of the shipwreck, the matter is currently under heated debate. Sea Search-Armada (SSA), an American-based marine salvaging company, has made the claim that it found the site and wreckage in the 1980s.

To that end, SSA launched an official legal claim in 2022 in the Permanent Court of Arbitration for roughly half of the total value of the artefacts recovered. The Colombian government has responded by stressing the value of these items to its people from a cultural standpoint, adding that the find is part of a larger research project that can help uncover the region's past.

Historians have rigorously vetted San José’s history and assert that it was part of the shipping fleet known as the Flota de Tierra Firme. The Colombian authorities communicated the following in a public statement released on November 20:

“Each of the archaeological objects collected from the shipwreck opens up the possibilities of discovering more aspects of the history of the San Jose galleon.”

It is unclear as of this report how the legal situation will pan out.

For more on this story or other developing news, check out Soap Central.

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