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Sunken Treasure Worth $500 Million Found Off England
An anonymous reader writes "In a modern day (and underwater) version of Indiana Jones, the AP is reporting that Odyssey Marine Exploration has recovered an estimated $500 Million in colonial coins from a 400 year old shipwreck in the Atlantic. The exact location of the wreck is still undisclosed. Odyssey is a for-profit, publicly traded company. 'In seeking exclusive rights to that site, an Odyssey attorney told a federal judge last fall that the company likely had found the remains of a 17th-century merchant vessel that sank with valuable cargo aboard, about 40 miles off the southwestern tip of England. A judge granted those rights Wednesday. In keeping with the secretive nature of the project dubbed ''Black Swan,'' Odyssey also is not discussing details of the coins, such as their type, denomination or country of origin. Bruyer said he observed a wide variety of coins that probably were never circulated. He said the currency was in much better condition than artifacts yielded by most shipwrecks of a similar age. The coins -- mostly silver pieces -- could fetch several hundred to several thousand dollars each, with some possibly commanding much more, he said.'"
Phase 1. Treasure
Phase 2. ???
Phase 3. Stop Global Warming
Only now does it become obvious that what we needed were more pirates.
Inexpensive maps available for just $99
...that pirates are better than ninjas. You never get to read about ninja treasure found underwater !
What's to stop someone from just waiting until they leave port then following the ship/boat?
Wonder how they stop that one suspicious cabin cruiser that keeps tailing them from port to salvage site.
Maybe some kind of court order or injunction..what if another takes its place..
I'd imagine the easiest way would be to lure these stalkers into international waters then sink them with the cannons.
Yaaarrrr!
I'm not quite getting it. Leaving aside the difficulties of shooting, who would stand in for the evil Nazis? I suppose they could have the Taliban in scuba gear.
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
This is a travesty. This centuries-old sunken treasure is of immeasurable cultural and archaeological value. That the contents of this ship are to be handed over to private corporation to be auctioned off to the highest bidder like so many pork bellies is an insult to human acheivement.
This is just another spadeful to the existing mountain of evidence of the crucial need for copyright reform in today's digital age.
Indiana Jones would've put that shit in a Museum, not paid dividends to his shareholders.
This is no map. It looks like...dancing lessons.
The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before. - Neil Gaiman
It's only a matter of time before they realise the treasure is cursed and they have to go out and fight Johnny Depp. Then stab Orlando Bloom.
So I guess it isn't all bad news.
That's so cool. I can't wait until someone does something similar with an abandoned spacecraft.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Don't you think it makes sense to say "found off England" than to say "found 2819 miles off Florida"? Or is there something wrong with giving an indication of the location?
Argh, the term ye be lookin' fer is "pre-emptive nautical salvage experts" or simply "pastafarians."