Diver Finds Gold Chalice From 1622 Shipwreck
I love marine history. What a thrill for this kid!!! If you like this kind of stuff, find the Mel Fisher story and watch it.
Just before Mike DeMar realized he found a rare and priceless treasure, he thought the 385-year-old gold chalice from a wrecked Spanish fleet was a far more common item.
”I thought I was digging a beer can that the metal detector hit,” said the 20-year-old treasure diver, who happened upon the object just after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. ‘I couldn’t see any gold until I pulled it out. The sediment cleared away. The gold started to shine. Time just stopped down there under water. I thought: `Oh my God.’ ”
The chalice — more than a pound of nearly pure gold — came to rest around the spot when the Santa Margarita sank in the Sept. 6, 1622, hurricane about 30 miles off Key West in about 20 feet of water.
More at the Miami Herald
