6. The Esmeralda
Estimated Current Value: $100 million* Disappeared in 1503 and Found in 2008
During the European Age of Exploration, when explorers sailed the world in search of new lands and wealth, the Esmeralda was the oldest shipwreck to occur. Vasco da Gama’s ship, the Esmeralda, was sunk in 1503 by a violent storm in the Arabian Sea. On the “India Route,” the ship was scuttled.
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The shipwreck was found in 1998, but excavation did not begin until the 2000s. The Esmeralda yielded rare coins, a ship bell, and an astrolabe. The astrolabe held special significance as it was the first known mariner’s astrolabe, estimated to have been fashioned in the latter part of the fourteenth century.
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