Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage

As a kid growing up in the Keys in the 60's through 80's, I remember seeing Mel Fisher walking around town sometimes. He usually had several gold chains with coins and emeralds dangling from his neck. He was quite a character! Great depiction of his discoveries in this museum. You can definitely get a good sense of how rare of an opportunity it was for Mel Fisher to find these shipwrecks.

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The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida is the culmination of one man’s 16-year quest for sunken treasure. The Nuestra Senora de Atocha and the Santa Margarita were Spanish galleons that sank off the coast of Havana, Cuba during a hurricane in 1622. Both ships carried enough treasure to put any pirate on permanent holiday. Spanish salvagers were unable to find a trace of the lost ships. Perseverance and good luck finally paid off, and, in 1985, Mel Fisher and his crew found this immense treasure….gold, silver bars, coins, jewelry, emeralds, and silverware, as well as navigational instruments, various tools, and 17th-century military weapons. After a lengthy, on-site conservation process (and series of lawsuits), this vast treasure sits on permanent display at the Mel Fisher Museum.

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