The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 24, June 17, 2007, Article 29

1654 CAPITANA SHIPWRECK COIN CARGO TARGETED BY TREASURE HUNTERS

By now most numismatists have heard of the S.S. Central America
and the S.S. 'Whatever' recently salvaged by the Odyssey group.
But what's the next numismatic haul from the briny deep?

The Peoria Journal-Star reported Thursday that "The focus of Scott
Heimdal's Peoria-based Pacific Ocean treasure hunting operation
has shifted to a second shipwrecked Spanish galleon off the coast
of Ecuador.

"The newest target of Heimdal's interest is known as the Capitana,
a silver coin-laden ship wrecked in 1654 on Chanduy Reef, near the
mouth of Ecuador's Guayaquil River. It's now in pieces and mostly
submerged beneath four to eight feet of mud, sand and clay in
tantalizingly shallow waters less than 40 feet deep. Divers have
been able to salvage some coins in recent months, Heimdal said,
but the bulk of the booty remains inaccessibly buried.

"The amount of Capitana buried treasure hinted at on the company's
Web site is mind-boggling. The boat may have been carrying as many
as 10 million pesos when it sank, with between 10 percent and 20
percent remaining on the ocean floor today, according to the Web
site. The value of each piece could range from $100 to several
thousand dollars, Heimdal said, depending on its value to collectors.
He said he believed the entire bounty of coins would fill the back
of a pickup truck."

[The firm's web site has images of recently coins and some videos
of the exploration and recovery efforts.  -Editor]

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

To view the RS Operations, LLC web site, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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