Gold & Silver Forum (http://goldismoney.info/forums/index.php)
- Gold - Silver - Coins - Numismatics (http://goldismoney.info/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=51)
- - Black Swan shipwreck coins: salvator wins title to $500M 17th cent ag + au (http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=137925)

Anty Ep | 05-18-2007 10:13 AM
Black Swan shipwreck coins: salvator wins title to $500M 17th cent ag + au cool man this will push prices of available shipwrech coinage dddddown http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070518/.../treasure_ship Quote:
Shipwreck yields estimated $500M haul <!-- END HEADLINE --> <!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer 38 minutes ago Deep-sea explorers said Friday they have mined what could be the richest shipwreck treasure in history, bringing home 17 tons of colonial-era silver and gold coins from an undisclosed site in the Atlantic Ocean. Estimated value: $500 million. A jet chartered by Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration landed in the United States recently with hundreds of plastic containers brimming with coins raised from the ocean floor, Odyssey co-chairman Greg Stemm said. The more than 500,000 pieces are expected to fetch an average of $1,000 each from collectors and investors. "For this colonial era, I think (the find) is unprecedented," said rare coin expert Nick Bruyer, who examined a batch of coins from the wreck. "I don't know of anything equal or comparable to it." Citing security concerns, the company declined to release any details about the ship or the wreck site Friday. Stemm said a formal announcement will come later, but court records indicate the coins might come from a 400-year-old ship found off England. Because the shipwreck was found in a lane where many colonial-era vessels went down, there is still some uncertainty about its nationality, size and age, Stemm said, although evidence points to a specific known shipwreck. The site is beyond the territorial waters or legal jurisdiction of any country, he said. "Rather than a shout of glee, it's more being able to exhale for the first time in a long time," Stemm said of the haul, by far the biggest in Odyssey's 13-year history. He wouldn't say if the loot was taken from the same wreck site near the English Channel that Odyssey recently petitioned a federal court for permission to salvage. In seeking exclusive rights to that site, an Odyssey attorney told a federal judge last fall that the company likely had found the remains of a 17th-century merchant vessel that sank with valuable cargo aboard, about 40 miles off the southwestern tip of England. A judge signed an order granting those rights last month. In keeping with the secretive nature of the project dubbed "Black Swan," Odyssey also isn't talking yet about the types, denominations and country of origin of the coins. Bruyer said he observed a wide range of varieties and dates of likely uncirculated currency in much better condition than artifacts yielded by most shipwrecks of a similar age. The Black Swan coins � mostly silver pieces � likely will fetch several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars each, with some possibly commanding much more, he said. Value is determined by rarity, condition and the story behind them. Controlled release of the coins into the market along with their expected high value to collectors likely will keep prices at a premium, he said. The richest ever shipwreck haul was yielded by the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank in a hurricane off the Florida Keys in 1622. Treasure-hunting pioneer Mel Fisher found it in 1985, retrieving a reported $400 million in coins and other loot. Odyssey likely will return to the same spot for more coins and artifacts. "We have treated this site with kid gloves and the archaeological work done by our team out there is unsurpassed," Odyssey CEO John Morris said. "We are thoroughly documenting and recording the site, which we believe will have immense historical significance." The news is timely for Odyssey, the only publicly traded company of its kind. The company salvaged more than 50,000 coins and other artifacts from the wreck of the SS Republic off Savannah, Ga., in 2003, making millions. But Odyssey posted losses in 2005 and 2006 while using its expensive, state-of-the-art ships and deep-water robotic equipment to hunt for the next mother lode. "The outside world now understands that what we do is a real business and is repeatable and not just a lucky one shot deal," Stemm said. "I don't know of anybody else who has hit more than one economically significant shipwreck." In January, Odyssey won permission from the Spanish government to resume a suspended search for the wreck of the HMS Sussex, which was leading a British fleet into the Mediterranean Sea for a war against France in 1694 when it sank in a storm off Gibraltar. Historians believe the 157-foot warship was carrying nine tons of gold coins to buy the loyalty of the Duke of Savoy, a potential ally in southeastern France. Odyssey believes those coins could also fetch more than $500 million. But under the terms of a historic agreement Odyssey will have to share any finds with the British government. The company will get 80 percent of the first $45 million and about 50 percent of the proceeds thereafter. ___ On the Net: Odyssey Marine Exploration: http://www.shipwreck.net/

Anty Ep | 05-18-2007 10:14 AM
Re: Black Swan shipwreck coins: salvator wins title to $500M 17th cent ag + au http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/..._coins_lg2.jpg I dont know if thats a stock photo or some of the boodle; it was linked to the article.

Anty Ep | 05-18-2007 10:20 AM
Re: Black Swan shipwreck coins: salvator wins title to $500M 17th cent ag + au another article Quote:
Odyssey Marine gets title to Colonial-era wreck Thursday May 17, 12:41 pm ET Odyssey Marine Exploration has passed the first step towards claiming possible treasure from a new shipwreck find in the Atlantic Ocean near England. Last September it filed an admiralty arrest complaint in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. This week it obtained a default judgment in its favor from the court. The wreck is located about 40 miles from Lands End near the English Channel, according to court documents. For security reasons, Odyssey never reveals the exact location of its salvage operations. This wreck is believed to be from the Colonial era. Last month Odyssey filed for two other wrecks, one about 100 miles west of Gibralter and the other about 65 miles east of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. The court has not yet ruled on Odyssey's rights to these two wrecks. Arresting a wreck site is a legal process that provides Odyssey with priority salvage status, or title, for a specific shipwreck and cargo. It is the first step in establishing Odyssey's exclusive access to the sites under protection of the Federal Admiralty Courts. Without it, others could contaminate the salvage site or remove some of the artifacts, the company said. Once the arrest process is completed, Odyssey will be the sole salvors with exclusive access to the sites. After recovery, a percentage of the artifacts will be awarded to Odyssey by the court in a final salvage award. It is always possible that there could be claimants such as insurance companies, but based on legal precedents Odyssey would expect to receive at least 90 percent of the value of the recovered artifacts. The balance would go to claimants that could prove that they had an ownership interest, and that they had not abandoned the interest. In Odyssey's most recent financial statement, it reported a net loss of $3.8 million for the first quarter of 2007. It has been losing money since 2004, when it posted a $17.6 million profit. Tampa-based Odyssey (AMEX: OMR) is a marine salvage company with several shipwreck projects in various stages of development throughout the world. Published May 17, 2007 by the Tampa Bay Business Journal

Anty Ep | 05-18-2007 10:21 AM
Re: Black Swan shipwreck coins: salvator wins title to $500M 17th cent ag + au backstory http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tamp...7/daily46.html Quote:
Odyssey Marine reports Q1 loss Tampa Bay Business Journal - May 10, 2007 Odyssey Marine Exploration reported a net loss of $3.8 million, or 9 cents a share, on revenue of $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2007 compared with a net loss of $3.9 million, or 9 cents a share, on revenue of $900,000 for the same period last year. Revenue more than doubled, primarily due to the outsourcing of the sale of gold and silver coins and the increase in sales that move produced, the company said. Operations expenses increased because of vessel operating expenses on a new search and inspection vessel purchased in June 2006. Marketing and administrative expenses rose due to an increase in share-based compensation. The closing of the New Orleans marine attraction in September 2006 offset some of the rising expenses. Odyssey Marine (AMEX: OMR) has several shipwreck projects in various stages of development throughout the world. Among them is the Sussex project off the coast of Spain, which recently got the go ahead from the governments of Spain and England to proceed with the salvage effort.

HistoryStudent | 05-18-2007 07:06 PM
Re: Black Swan shipwreck coins: salvator wins title to $500M 17th cent ag + au Mostly silver coins. I wonder what the gold coins are?

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:58 PM. |

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright = None use it and Link to GIM