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HMS VICTORY WRECK FOUND IN BRITISH CHANNEL; WAS HAULING FOUR TONS OF GOLD COINS The Odyssey Marine Exploration team has hit another jackpot - the HMS Victory, a 175-foot sailing ship that sank in the English Channel on Oct. 4, 1744. Many thanks to the E-Sylum reader who forwarded this article. -Editor  Deep-sea explorers who found $500 million in sunken treasure two years ago say they have discovered another prized shipwreck: A legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago.The wreckage of the HMS Victory, found below about 330 feet of water, may carry an even bigger jackpot. Research indicates the ship was carrying 4 tons of gold coins when it sank in storm, said Greg Stemm, co-founder of Odyssey Marine Exploration, ahead of a Monday news conference in London. So far, two brass cannons have been recovered from the wreck, Stemm said. The Florida-based company said it is negotiating with the British government over collaborating on the project. "This is a big one, just because of the history," Stemm said. "Very rarely do you solve an age-old mystery like this." Thirty-one brass cannons and other evidence on the wreck allowed definitive identification of the HMS Victory, 175-foot sailing ship that was separated from its fleet and sank in the English Channel on Oct. 4, 1744, with at least 900 men aboard, the company said. The ship was the largest and, with 110 brass cannons, the most heavily armed vessel of its day. It was the inspiration for the HMS Victory famously commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson decades later. To read the complete article, see: Wreck of renowned British warship found in Channel (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090201/ap_on_bi_ge/shipwreck_discovery) Arthur Shippee forwarded another news item about Odyssey Marine. Finding and recovering treasure is the easy part - defending your haul in court is a bigger hassle, I'm sure. Peru says it is pushing forward with a legal claim in the U.S. seeking $500 million in silver coins plucked from the wreck of a Spanish galleon that sank in 1804. A public decree issued by the Foreign Ministry orders Lima's ambassador in Washington to hire attorneys to try to recover 17 tons of coins. Peru claimed the treasure in U.S. District Court in Florida last year, arguing that the coins were made from Peruvian silver and minted in Lima. Spain's government is also suing Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration for the loot, which was found off Portugal in 2007. Peru was a Spanish colony at the time the ship sank. To read the complete article, see: Peru Pushes Claim on $500M Shipwreck Treasure Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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