Black Swan Hoard

The Black Swan Hoard

The Spanish naval frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes was sunk off Algarve, Portugal, by the British navy in 1804 while traveling back from the Spanish colony of Peru. It lay on the sea floor until 2007, when the Tampa, Florida, based commercial salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration reported finding a very rich shipwreck that it code-named "Black Swan."

When salvage work was completed, approximately 17 tons of silver and gold coins dating to the 18th century were recovered, totaling 595,000 coins. Odyssey Marine Exploration shipped the coin hoard to the United States without informing Madrid.

When it learned of the hoard, the Spanish government began a legal battle to halt what they considered an act of looting. The international maritime law referred to as the doctrine of sovereign immunity states that active-duty naval vessels on non-commercial missions remain the property of the country that commissioned them.

Peru also attempted to claim the treasure as the country originally plundered by the Spanish for its silver and gold resources. However, a Spanish government magistrate ruled that Spain was the rightful owner because Peru was considered a Spanish colony at the time of the wreck and it was therefore Spain that commissioned the ship's construction and missions.

Odyssey Marine Exploration first contested Spain's claim for restitution in the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The company argued that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the identity of the ship and, furthermore, the ship was actually engaged in a commercial mission, as the majority of the coins on board were owned by private merchants.

In 2012, judge Steven D. Merryday of the United States District Court of the Middle District of Florida ruled in support of Spain's claim, overturning a lower court ruling in favor of Odyssey Marine Exploration. The coins were flown back to Spain on military aircraft.

Upon the return of the treasure to Spain, Jorge Dezcallar, the Spanish Ambassador to the Unites states, proclaimed: "It is our duty to remember the lives of those sailors who perished and complete this operation satisfactorily for their memory." The recovered hoard is now stored at the National Museum of Subaquatic Archaeology in Cartagena (Murcia).

595,000

Currency – coins, weights, exchange goods

Spanish

Spain

Damien Huffer

Jason Felch