Santa Margarita, sunk in 1622 west of Key West, Florida

From the same hurricane-stricken 1622 Fleet as the Atocha (above), the Santa Margarita sank on a reef within sight of the Atocha and was found in 1626 by Spanish salvagers, who recovered only roughly half its treasure. The other half was found by Mel Fisher and company in 1980. Margarita’s treasures were similar to those found on the Atocha, yet with fewer coins in comparatively worse condition overall (yet not as harshly cleaned). As with Atocha coins, original Fisher certificates are critical to the premium value for these coins, which is on par with Atocha coins.