Ancient Shipwreck Still Revealing Her Secrets

The lucky diver popped out of the water at the stern of the recovery boat, excitedly shaking his fist and shouting through his regulator. The round encrusted object he handed to the topside crew didn’t look very valuable, but in fact it was a rare silver coin, also known as a piece of eight. The ancient wreck at Jupiter Inlet had given up more of her secrets.

The Spanish ship San Miguel de Archangel wrecked upon the shores of what is now Palm Beach County 350 years ago, strewing her valuable cargo along the beach and offshore sandbar. There is no record of how much the Spanish were able to salvage. Professional salvors began to uncover her secrets 22 years ago, and to this very day, the shipwreck continues to produce treasure.

In 1987 two surfers at Jupiter Inlet fell off their boards and spotted what they thought was a cannon on the seafloor and reported it to a lifeguard. Several days later, while on his morning swim, the lifeguard re-found the cannon and contacted Master Mariner and marina owner, Captain Dominic Addario, who was equipped and capable of recovering the find. They agreed to form a joint venture to recover it.
Captain Addario placed an Admiralty claim upon the unknown vessel in the U.S. Southern District Court on the 27th day of July, 1987. A bond was posted to the Court and Jupiter Wreck, Inc., a newly formed Florida corporation, was subsequently named federal substitute custodian of the wreck site.

Cannons, anchors, a silver bar, and thousands of historical artifacts and rare coins of silver and gold have been found in years since.

This past September, Captain Addario, along with his wife Yvonne and crew, resumed following the trail of treasure, Diving from their recovery vessel, the Tank, the team recovered coins and artifacts in just 20 feet of water.

For more information visit www.jupitercoins.com