MIAMI - US deep-sea treasure hunters said Friday they retrieved 17 tonnes of silver coins from a shipwreck, saying the find is the largest of its kind, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Odyssey Marine Exploration said the coins and other artifacts were found on a "colonial" period shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean, but maintained a shroud of secrecy over the exact location, citing security and legal reasons.
The artifacts include over 500,000 silver coins weighing more than 17 tonnes, hundreds of gold coins, as well as worked gold, the Tampa, Florida-based company said.
"It is believed that this recovery constitutes the largest collection of coins ever excavated from a historical shipwreck site," the company said in a statement.
It also said it expected the shipwreck would eventually become one of the most publicized in history.
An expert consulted by the company recommended offering the silver coins at retail prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to 4,000 dollars each, depending on the condition, date and origin.
"The gold coins are estimated to bring substantially higher numbers," the company said.
Odyssey indicated it had used a tethered underwater robot, also known as remotely operated vehicle in the salvage operation, but it jealously guarded information about the site and identity of the shipwreck, which it code-named "Black Swan."
"For site security and legal reasons, we are not prepared to give the location, depth or any other information about the site," the company said, adding that it planned further excavations once it has confirmed the name and nationality of the sunken ship.
"We have some interesting evidence that tends to point to a specific shipwreck, but we do not intend to discuss this publicly until we have had a chance to review contemporary records and conduct extensive analysis of the artifacts and coins that have been recovered to date," Odyssey said.
The company made it clear it wanted to assert its legal rights to the find before it would provide details of its location, but insisted the shipwreck was well beyond any country's territorial waters.
It also said it was discussing film, television and book rights.
"We anticipate that the 'Black Swan' will prove to be one of the most widely publicized shipwrecks in history, and we are selecting media partners that can contribute to telling the story of this amazing project," the company said.
It said the coins were shipped to the United States, where they are being individually restored.
"The remarkable condition of most of the first 6,000 silver coins conserved has been a pleasant surprise, and the gold coins are almost all dazzling mint state specimens," said Greg Stemm, Odyssey's chief executive officer.
"We are excited by the wide range of dates, origins and varieties of the coins, and we believe that the collecting community will be thrilled when they see the quality and diversity of the collection."
The Odyssey's previous finds include the SS Republic, lost off the US coast in 1865. The excavation of that site produced about 65,000 artifacts, including over 50,000 coins with a retail value of over 75 million dollars.
The company is also involved in the search for the HMS Sussex, an 80-gun warship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Gibraltar in 1694.
Britain and Spain reached agreement in March to have Odyssey conduct the search.
05/18/2007 17:36 GMT