There’s gold in there them…seas? Yes — hundreds of ships were sent by Spain, Britain and other European powers channeled between the continent and the New World, bringing in supplies and leaving laden with with gold and silver. Most of them time they got through fine, their terrific armaments enabling them to repel the occasional pirate attack, and most travelled in packs of three for added protection. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was in such pack, bringing up the rear of the merchant ship returning from modern-day Key West when the fleet was struck by a terrific storm. The Atocha sank, taking her treasures down with her, but she was not lost.

On this day, July 20, the American treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who spent sixteen years in search of the Atocha and her sunken treasure, finally located the ship, 40 miles from Key West. Some 40 tons of treasure were recovered, with an estimated worth of $400 million.

Among the treasures recovered were gold coins, emeralds, silver bars and 114,000 of the Spanish silver coins known as “pieces of eight” (real de a ocho.) All that represented just half of the treasure on board: the section carrying the bulk of the treasure has yet to be found. Fisher did give a catchy moniker to the shallow sandy area where the treasure ship came to rest: The Bank of Spain.