In 2003 Odyssey salvaged the SS Republic, a US paddle steamer that sank in 1865 and yielded $75 million. In 2002 it claimed to have found HMS Sussex, a British warship that sank in 1694, reputedly taking 10 tonnes of gold coins intended as a bribe to entice the Duke of Savoy to side with Britain against France. A front-page New York Times story said the horde might "be worth up to $4 billion". Odyssey's stock soared overnight, from $0.90 to $1.93.
This rosy scenario had detractors. In April the New Yorker reported that History Hunters International, a website run by three British sceptics, had questioned the wreck's true identity and suggested that the Royal Navy's entire budget in 1694 was smaller than the Sussex's supposed cargo.
http://historyhuntersinternational.org/nautical-archaeology/secrets-of-the-deep/
This rosy scenario had detractors. In April the New Yorker reported that History Hunters International, a website run by three British sceptics, had questioned the wreck's true identity and suggested that the Royal Navy's entire budget in 1694 was smaller than the Sussex's supposed cargo.
http://historyhuntersinternational.org/nautical-archaeology/secrets-of-the-deep/
