(Image credit: ARC-DIMAR 2022/Vargas Ariza et al. Antiquity 2025)
New information about gold coins found near the coast of Colombia confirms they are from the Spanish Galleon San Jose. This treasure ship sank during a 1708 cannon battle with British warships.
When the galleon sank it was loaded with up to 180 metric tons (200 tons) of gold and silver, as well as uncut gemstones. The treasure’s value today may be as much as 17 billion dollars Live Science reported previously.
Colombia hopes to recover artifacts to build a museum. There are also opposing claims, such as the Spanish government which maintains that the wrecks of Spanish naval vessels, regardless of their age, remain Spain’s property.
A new study published in the journal on Tuesday, June 10, by the authors of a new research.
Researchers from Colombia’s Navy and other Colombian Authorities are included in Antiquity. The analysis included examining images taken by remotely controlled vehicles (ROVs), of dozens rough coins scattered around the wreckage at a depth between 1,970 feet and 600 meters.
The Colombian government announced in 2015 that they had located the San Jose () in the Colombian Caribbean, near the city Cartagena. The observations were made on four ROV expeditions in 2021 and in 2022. According to the study’s observations, the coins and nearby wreck debris are from 1708 wreckage of the San Jose.
Related to: Treasure of gold and jewels found in a 366 year old shipwreck on the Bahamas
(Image credit: ARC-DIMAR 2022/Vargas Ariza et al. Antiquity 2025)
Sunken gold
Researchers describe seeing dozens (the total number is unknown) of rough gold coins at various locations within the shipwreck. They were surrounded by artifacts such as guns, cargo and everyday life on board over 300 years ago. They used high-definition photographs to examine the coins closely and determined that their average diameter was 1.3 inches (32.5 mm) and that they likely weighed 27 grams (about one ounce).
ROV images revealed coins’ designs. The reverse side features a variation on a Jerusalem cross, with one large cross surrounded four smaller crosses and a shield decorated by castles and lions. The researchers noted that the “Crowned Pillars of Hercules above the waves of the sea,” on the back of these coins is unique to the Lima Mint.
The researchers also noted that certain coins bore distinctive marks hammered in the metal. These included the marks of a assayer, an expert who tests metal purity, from the Spanish Mint in Lima, today’s capital of Peru. The researchers confirmed that the coins and artifacts were from San Jose by comparing their observations to colonial records.
Lead author of the study
Daniela Vargas Ariza,an archaeologist in maritime history at Colombia’s Almirante Padilla Naval Cadet School, Cartagena and Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, Bogota, stated that these colonial Spanish coinage were often cut from silver or gold ingots. She said in a press release that
“Hand-struck, irregularly shaped coins — known as cobs in English and macuquinas in Spanish — served as the primary currency in the Americas for more than two centuries,” these colonial Spanish coins were often cut from gold or silver ingots.
(Image credit: ARC-DIMAR 2022/Vargas Ariza et al. Antiquity 2025)
Richest shipwreck (19659029) The San Jose wreck has been rated as one of the most valuable ever discovered. There are many legal disputes over who is entitled to recover it, but it’s unclear if it’s possible. Colombia hopes to sell some of the treasure in order to pay for the archaeological excavation of the entire ship. However, Colombian law could prohibit the sale of anything that is considered a historical artifact.
Spain claims the wreck and all of its treasure under an international convention that says the wrecks of ships belong to the original nation. Colombia has not ratified the convention and critics claim that it is meant to protect modern warship technology, not centuries-old treasure wrecks.
On June 8, 1708 the San Jose led a fleet of 18 ships bound for Europe from Cartagena.
The British squadron of five warships attacked the Spanish ship at the time. Britain was Spain’s main enemy during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Three of the largest Spanish galleons responded with their cannons but the British fleet was able to hold them off.
San Jose blew up and sank after its gunpowder stores exploded. The majority of the Spanish fleet fled into safety in the harbor of Cartagena.
Tom Metcalfe, a freelance journalist based in London, United Kingdom is a regular Live Science contributor. Tom Metcalfe writes about science, space and archaeology. He also writes about the Earth, the oceans, and archaeology. He has also written for BBC, NBC News National Geographic, Scientific American and Air & Space.
