| By :
Mark Etinger
Chances are that in your coin collection you don't have a Spanish galleon or any other kind of sunken treasure. That doesn't mean however that they don't exist and aren't within your grasp. As a matter of fact, there are new shipwrecked coins being brought up from the oceans depth every day. How is this possible? With new technology, ease of maneuverability in the deep sea, and new understanding of oceanography getting to the bottom of the ocean is getting easier than ever before. I suppose it started with Robert Ballard finding the RMS Titanic in 1985. After this enormous discovery the whole world, it seemed, was looking to the bottom of the ocean for ancient treasures. Numerous documentaries and television shows are now in circulation that show the discoveries of uncounted and never before seen treasures being rescued from the bottom of the ocean. In one of these documentaries, a crew investigating the wreck of a sunken Spanish ship from the 16th century comes across an enormous find. It is the coin collecting jackpot. It was known as "the golden fleece" and contained a few thousand coins and several hundred ingot gold bars. These coins were some of the first ever minted in the new world and one of them fetched the astronomical price of $373,750 in an auction in 2006. But how did these coins get topside? In 1993, a small vessel armed with a ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) and a small crew was hunting in the North Caribbean Sea. After setting the ROV into the water, on what has to be a day of clear skies and calm seas, it descends several hundred feet under the water, far deeper than any diver could safely go for any amount of time. The ROV can withstand the immense pressure of the water and can safely bring up the coin collection. Once it gets to the bottom of the ocean and locates the wreck, the operator guides it carefully over the coins and an attachment blows water gently over them so they are more visible. It then provides a gentle suction, not unlike a vacuum cleaner, which gently (VERY gently) scoops them into a coin holder tank. After the coins have been carefully and gently collected, they are slowly brought to the surface. After they are topside, they are kept in the salt water to preserve any of the patina until they can be properly looked after by a coin expert.
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