500-Year-Old Portuguese Treasure Ship Found in Namibia - Chest of Gold Recovered

[UnderMiner]

A mining company digging in Namibia has discovered the oldest shipwreck ever recovered in that country - a 500-year-old Portuguese ship that was transporting gold, tin, ivory tusks, and 44,000 pounds of copper when it broke apart and sank in 1535. The wreck contains some of the best preserved artifacts from the age as the thousands of pounds of copper ingots helped preserve the organic matter. The captain's treasure chest was recovered - it contained gold coins which were perfectly preserved - and estimated to be worth 13 million dollars.

“As luck would have it, we found the treasure chest on day six. Academic arguments are all very well, but once you have literally filled your hat with a 25.5 lb mixture of Spanish and Portuguese gold coins, the value of the site is no longer in doubt.”

Link: 500 year-old shipwreck loaded with gold found in Namibian desert | Fox News

 

[spyguy]

Great story --- unfortunately it doesn't end well for the treasure hunters who found it....
So who gets the gold?
“The Namibian government – every single coin,” he said. “That is the normal procedure when a ship is found on a beach. The only exception is when it is a ship of state – then the country under whose flag the ship was sailing gets it and all its contents. And in this case the ship belonged to the King of Portugal, making it a ship of state – with the ship and its entire contents belonging to Portugal. The Portuguese government, however, very generously waived that right, allowing Namibia to keep the lot.”

Here's another reminder in case we needed it: Loose lips sink ships!
HH
-spyguy

 

[Sheldon J]

ummm that's a pipe.... not a chest.... this is one method that was used to hide transported loot and not having to pay a fee on it... is it was PRIVATE PROPERTY not property of any government...

 

[UnderMiner]

ummm that's a pipe.... not a chest.... this is one method that was used to hide transported loot and not having to pay a fee on it... is it was PRIVATE PROPERTY not property of any government...

According to the article that is a cannon of some sort and the gold was found in a chest that was squashed under part of the hull of the ship.

 

[Sheldon J]

According to the article that is a cannon of some sort and the gold was found in a chest that was squashed under part of the hull of the ship.

I first thought cannon but then it looked too long and thin walled to be one, but it could be the wide angle lens they used to shoot the photo...
Still coins in the cannon were the captains stash for emergency's, his retirement fund so to speak and the government can have no legal claim to that.... Now his heirs on the other hand....

 

[Oddjob]

I would like to know exactly how much was really found.