“Coconut wreck,” sunk ca. 1810 in deep water off Bermuda

This fascinating find has been touted as the deepest treasure wreck ever found, and it should hold that title for a long time! While searching in 1999 for Gus Grissom’s space capsule Liberty Bell 7 (lost in a test at sea, in which Grissom nearly died) from the Mercury program of 1961, underwater explorer Curt Newport (supported by the Discovery Channel) noticed an unidentified anomaly at a depth of 16,300 feet—not the space capsule (which was eventually found and recovered), but something interesting to be investigated later. That day came in 2001 when Michael McDowell used a pair of Russian submarines to view the wreck, whereupon they discovered the remains of a wooden trading vessel loaded with coconuts! A chest filled with more than 1300 silver coins was soon recovered, along with a small, ornate gold box containing 13 gold coins wrapped in a newspaper dated August 6, 1809. These gold coins were sold at auction in 2008 by Stack’s in New York, who dubbed this the “Coconut wreck,” despite its earlier names (given by divers and promoters) of “Pińa Colada wreck” and “Atlantic Target Expedition wreck”.

Our Treasure Auction #3 marks the first time the silver coins from this wreck have ever been offered at auction. Each coin is accompanied by a numbered photo-certificate from archeologist James Sinclair and has been given a Grade (1 to 4, 1 being the best) to reflect the coin’s state of preservation.
 

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