Divers recently discovered “a massive 55-pound copper ingot” used in the production of cannons as part of a 400-year-old shipwreck off the Florida Keys, triggering hopes of more discoveries in the debris.
Divers with Mel Fisher’s Shipwreck Expeditions were exploring the wreck site of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the Spanish treasure galleon that sank off the coast of Florida in 1622 during a hurricane. They discovered the massive 55-pound copper ingot, which could be valued up to $25,000. They say the copper was used in the “production of bronze cannons.”
In a social media post, Mel Fisher’s Shipwreck Expeditions detailed the “major discovery.”
“Captain Drake & crew have recovered a massive 55-pound copper ingot from the wreck site. More than 400 years ago, molten copper was poured into sand molds to create heavy ingots like this one. The copper aboard the Atocha was being transported to Spain, where it could be used in the production of bronze cannons. Bronze cannons were stronger, more powerful, and capable of firing farther than many iron cannons of the time,” Mel Fisher’s Shipwreck Expeditions detailed on their Facebook page.
Canon from the galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha 1616 in Archivo General de Indias. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“The Atocha’s manifest listed a total of 140 copper ingots aboard the ship, making this a rare and historically significant recovery. We currently believe this ingot could be valued between $18,000 and $25,000,” they continued, noting that they believe the crew is “hot on the trail” of more treasure finds with this discovery.
The crew has also found silver coins, musket balls, artifacts, and a 22.5-pound silver bar.
“Heavy treasure. Heavy ballast. More discoveries. More evidence that we may be closing in on something significant. Congratulations to Captain Drake and the entire crew!” it added.
Captain Drake Nicholas said of the discovery, “I thought it was a cannon, but it ended up being a copper ingot, which was also very exciting.”
“I believe that only certain people could actually own copper because it was making such strong cannons,” he said. “It wasn’t something an everyday guy could have a stockpile of — it was more for the king and queen to make cannons.”
The discovery follows other finds across the globe. In August, divers discovered a 2,400-year-old shipwreck off the coast of an island in Greece’s Cyclades, containing hundreds of “pointed-bottom commercial amphorae.”