5. Ceramics by Hoi An
Current Estimated Value: $14 million*
Disappeared in the 1400s and 1500s.
Date of Discovery: 1996
In the 1990s, local Vietnamese fishermen were taken aback when they started removing pottery rather than fish from their nets. After informing the authorities, the Hoi An shipwreck excavation started in 1996. Divers found that a substantial amount of ceramic was being carried by the wreck.
These porcelain plates were made in the 1400s and 1500s and were blue and white in color. Excavators found a total of 250,000 fragments, most likely lifted from the seafloor by a strong storm. Among the most costly relics found were three dragon ewers, which brought $79,500, $63,000, and $57,500 at auction.
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