42. Port Royal, Jamaica
Est. Value Today: Unknown
Year Disappeared: 1692
Year Discovered: N/A (Still, 2,000 People Left)
Port Royal, Jamaica was once a lively pirate city. It was home to pirates encouraged to attack Habsburg Spanish vessels. Port Royal was known for its displays of piracy-sourced wealth and “loose morals.” Dutch and English pirates would spend ill-gotten treasure there during the seventeenth century. Pirates came to Port Royal from locations as distant as Madagascar.
Port Royal, Jamaica @renee2309 / Pinterest
Sadly, this party city was ravaged by an earthquake on June 7, 1692. The earthquake had a huge tsunami that flooded the city. Several more earthquakes and tsunamis struck shortly after, sinking much of Port Royal into the sea. Fires and an 1850 cholera epidemic destroyed what Mother Nature did not. Only 2,000 people live in the impoverished, run-down area now, as much of it is still underwater.
43. The Salcombe Shipwreck
Est. Value Today: $800 million*
Year Disappeared: Mid-to-Late 1600s
Year Discovered: 1994
The Salcombe shipwreck has yielded the largest haul of Moroccan gold in history, and it was almost not even discovered. In 1992, the SWMAG was asked to investigate the site. At the time, they said the Salcombe was a mere “cannon site” with “nothing else” there. Two years ago, the seabed changed, revealing a huge treasure collection.
The Salcombe Shipwreck @therichest / Pinterest
Hundreds upon hundreds of pieces of jewelry have been discovered on the site, dating from 1510 to 1636 Additionally, Bronze Age artifacts have been discovered, including ornaments, tools, axes, and swords. So far, the Salcombe has yielded $800 million worth of treasure.
44. The F4U Corsair in Hawaii
Est. Value Today: $4-$5 million*
Year Disappeared: 1948
Year Discovered: N/A
The F4U Corsair was a fighter jet that saw action in WWII and the Korean War. During WWII, this speedy little jet gave WWII pilots an edge over the Axis Powers. The F4U was known for its speed and ruggedness, and it could travel 446MPH. Goodyear built 12,571 of these fighter aircraft, and one of those thousands ended up underwater, off the coast of Hawaii.
The F4U Corsair in Hawaii @travellingking / Pinterest
One F4U was on a routine mission when something went wrong with the engine. The pilot landed it in the water and ejected safely. The plane wasn’t damaged, but it immediately began to sink. The F4U’s bomber days are long past, but it is now home to quite a dense garden of eels and sea creatures.
45. The SS Thistlegorm Steam Engine
Est. Value Today: $3.027 million*
Year Disappeared: 1941
Year Discovered: 1956, Early 1990s
The SS Thistlegorm, built by Joseph Thompson & Sons, was an armed Merchant Navy ship belonging to Britain. She was built in 1940 at a cost of over $3 million. Thistlegorm carried out several successful voyages before she was sunk by German bombers in 1941. Right before her sinking, she had undergone extensive renovations in Glasgow.
The SS Thistlegorm Steam Engine ©Cigdem Sean Cooper / Shutterstock
Thistlegorm’s cargo at the time of her sinking included armored vehicles, Bren guns, ammunition, and radio equipment necessary for the WWII effort in Egypt. She was bombed from above by two Luftwaffe aircraft, leading to not only the ship’s destruction, but also the loss of nine crew members. The shipwreck was rediscovered by Jacques Cousteau in the 1950s and Sharm el-Sheikh in the 1990s.
46. Black Swan Project
Est. Value Today: $704.86 million*
Year Disappeared: 1804
Year Discovered: 2007
The Black Swan Project is the name of a discovery and recovery mission conducted by the Odyssey Marine Exploration team in the 2000s. The team recovered well over $700 million worth of gold and silver coins from the ocean floor. Odyssey kept the discovery secret until the news became public in 2007 when they tried to move the coins. The coins were originally the property of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish frigate sunk by the British in 1804.
Black Swan Project @english.elpais.com /Pinterest
The Spanish government sued Odyssey, and, after a lengthy trial, the court ordered the coins returned to Spain, where the treasure is now housed in a museum in Cartagena. Not only that, the court ordered the exploration team to pay $1 million for “abusive litigation” and “bad faith.”
47. The Esmeralda
Est. Value Today: $100 million*
Year Disappeared: 1503
Year Discovered: 2008
The Esmeralda was the oldest shipwreck to occur during the European Age of Exploration, where adventurers sailed all over the world to discover new continents and treasures. A vicious storm in the Arabian Sea destroyed the Esmeralda, which was led by Vasco da Gama, in 1503. The ship was destroyed along the “India Route.”
The Esmeralda @cnn.com | @readersdigest/Pinterest
In 1998, the shipwreck was discovered, but it was not excavated until the 2000s. Finds from the Esmeralda included rare coins, an astrolabe, and a ship bell. The astrolabe, in particular, was special because it was the earliest known mariners’ astrolabe, thought to have been made in the late 1400s.
48. Jewels of Lima
Est. Value Today: $208 million*
Year Disappeared: 1820
Year Discovered: N/A
The Jewels of Lima, also known as the Treasure of Lima, are a group of buried treasures that have yet to be recovered. It is thought that the Treasure is worth up to $208 million in today’s money. In 1820, the Viceroy of Lima transported Lima, Peru’s treasure hoard to Mexico during a time of political strife.
Jewels of Lima @andeanadventuresperu/Pinterest
But, the crew bringing the treasure to Mexico was unable to resist the temptation of the riches. They killed the guards and priests on board and threw their bodies overseas. Then, they headed to Cocos Island, Costa Rica, where they buried the treasure. The plan was to return and reclaim their spoils when the situation calmed down. But, that never happened, and it is rumored that the treasure is still unclaimed on Cocos Island.
49. Apollo 11 Rockets
Est. Value Today: $100-$200 million*
Year Disappeared: Late 1960s/Early 1970s
Year Discovered: 2013
We have Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos to thank for the recovery of this buried treasure. The Apollo 11 rockets landed in the ocean in the late 1960s and 1970s after helping power astronauts on Apollo 11 to the moon. Bezos led a search and recovery team into the depths of the Atlantic to bring back these pieces of space history.
Apollo 11 Rockets @Johnson Space Center /Wikimedia Commons
The haul retrieved gas generators, injectors, thrust chambers, heat exchangers, turbines, fuel manifolds, and many other artifacts. Bezos assembled a team of sixty people with high-tech instruments to bring back the artifacts, which are now displayed in a museum.
50. The SS Central America
Est. Value Today: $765 million*
Year Disappeared: 1857
Year Discovered: 1988
The SS Central America has the nickname the “Ship of Gold” because, when it sank during a hurricane in 1857, it took 30,000 pounds of gold down with it. This contributed to a financial panic that year that swept the United States. The sidewheel steamer’s actual value was $4.07 million, but the value of its cargo was around $765 million.
The SS Central America @blanchardgold.com /Pinterest
In 1988, a search and recovery team went down and recovered around $150 million worth of the lost gold. One particular piece that caught everyone’s attention was an eighty-pound ingot that later sold for $8 million, making it the most valuable coin in the world at the time.
51. Tortugas
Est. Value Today: $251,000*
Year Disappeared: 1622
Year Discovered: 2013
Not all shipwrecked valuables contain silver and gold. The Florida Keys is the site of a huge shipwreck that occurred in 1622. The Tortugas ships went down in a nasty storm, a common occurrence off the coast of Florida. The Odyssey Marine Exploration, centuries later, conducted a deep sea recovery that stretched almost 1,329 feet below the sea.
Tortugas @chipstone.org /Pinterest
At the time, this was the first deep-sea recovery in the world. The Tortugas yielded detailed, beautiful pearls and pottery. Also found on the ships were gold, silver, indigo, cochineal (a type of red dye), and tobacco. The total value of the treasure was estimated at $251,000.
52. Costa Concordia
Est. Value Today: $500 million-$1 billion*
Year Disappeared: 2012
Year Discovered: 2012
When you think of cruise ships sinking, your mind probably jumps to the Titanic. But, another, more contemporary cruise ship disaster is that of the Costa Concordia, which took place in 2012. The vessel deviated from its Mediterranean route and struck a sea floor rock formation. Sadly, thirty-four people died.
Costa Concordia @CNN /CNN.com
The ship was insured for $513 million, but that was not enough to cover the $2 billion in total damage. The loss of goods was between $500 million and $1 billion alone. As you can imagine, there were many different lawsuits and criminal investigations as a result of this tragedy. These investigations turned up a twist: at the time it sank, the Costa Concordia was carrying a huge amount of cocaine owned by the Italian Mafia, though ship officials were unaware that contraband was on board.