Treasure hunters recover rare silver bar from legendary shipwreck off Florida Keys

Treasure hunters working off Key West recovered a rare 22.5-pound silver bar from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank in 1622. The find is the first silver bar from the wreck recovered by this expedition since 1999 and highlights that the site still contains significant remaining artifacts more than four decades after the main “Mother Lode” discovery in 1985. The bar was found using a metal detector, removed with an airlift from about 50 feet of water, and is now undergoing conservation. Officials estimate the bar could be worth $50,000 to $100,000, though its historical significance is considered greater. The story is a lifestyle/archaeology item with no direct market-moving impact on financial instruments.