A treasure of 37 gold coins, valued at over $1 million, has been recovered after being stolen from a shipwreck off Fort Pierce, Florida.
The coins were taken by salvagers in 2015 from an 18th-century wreck along Florida’s Treasure Coast. Authorities announced on Tuesday, November 26, that the treasure had been recovered, and professional treasure hunter Eric Schmitt has been charged with dealing in stolen property.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced the reclamation of the treasure in a statement. They dubbed it a “major milestone in a long-standing investigation into the theft and illegal trafficking of these priceless historical artifacts.”
The treasure’s true home is aboard the eleven ships of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet. The ships were loaded with treasure to be transported to the other side of the vast Spanish empire, but they were all destroyed in a hurricane that hit them in July of that year.
The treasure was discovered by the Schmitt family, which runs a salvaging business known as Booty Salvage, in 2015. They found a total of 101 coins while exploring the shallow waters on the shores of Fort Pierce, Florida.
“It’s definitely a passion. You gotta want to do this,” Schmitt said to CBS News in 2015. “Mostly what we find is garbage on a daily basis—beer cans and lead sinkers and bullets.”
The FWC said that, of the 101 gold coins, 51 were reported correctly. The 50 coins that were not reported and adjudicated correctly were considered stolen by authorities. According to the FWC, The 101 coins altogether are valued at an estimated $4.5 million.
The FWC and FBI launched a joint investigation for the missing coins on June 10th and found evidence that linked Eric Schmitt to the illegal sale of multiple coins from 2023 to 2024.
After gathering evidence, authorities had enough to issue multiple search warrants to find the stolen gold treasure from the 1715 shipwreck. A Florida auctioneer had five of the coins. The rest were found in safety deposit boxes, private homes, and other auctions.
According to the FWC, Schmitt also placed three of the coins back on the sea floor in 2016 to be later discovered by new investors for the company that had hired his family to find the treasure the previous year.
Investigators are searching for the remaining 13 coins of the 50 that are considered stolen. “This case underscores the importance of safeguarding Florida’s rich cultural heritage and holding accountable those who seek to profit from its exploitation,” FWC Investigator Camille Soverel said in a statement.
