A family of treasure hunters discovered $1M worth of gold coins in Florida seaboard

A family of treasure hunters found $1 million worth of Spanish gold coins. The shipwreck was identified as the Capitana, a cargo fleet that sank 300 years ago due to a hurricane passing through Florida going to Havana carrying loads of fortune.

Eric Schmitt found a shipwreck, the Capitana, a Spanish cargo in Fort Pierce on a hunting trip with wife, sister and parents about a month ago. The family is a subcontractor of 1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels, LLC, a company focusing on recovering the famous 1715 Plate Fleet. Their aim is to inform the public about the historical 1715 havoc and are authorized to conduct retrieval operations in Florida, according to the official site.

The news has been delayed to revere the 300^th historical anniversary after the ship went down the surface.

Among the treasure pieces found are 12-meter ornate gold chain, 51 gold coins and a very rare coin minted for King Philip V of Spain called 'Tricentennial Royal' which is equivalent to $500,000 alone.

Brent Brisben, the owner of 1715 Fleet Queens Jewels, informed Reuters that the value of the freight amounts to $400M today. Only $157M has been retrieved as of this time, Fox News reported.

Capitana, the shipwreck, is one of the vessels headed by Capt. Don Juan Esteban de Ubilla. The other three are Almiranta, Refuerzo and Patache. It is carrying vast amount of jewels and gold chains when it submerged in July 1715 in Florida due to a hurricane en route to Havana.

Thousands of people died, including de Ubilla. Some of the crew members swam to the shore, others remained floated with pieces from the wreckage, but the majority of the fleet went missing.

The Schmitts had found several treasure pieces before. Around September 2013, they found a set of gold chain that measures 60 feet. Last year, they discovered a back segment of a gold-filigree pyx, it is a vessel used to seize the Eucharist during the Holy Communion.

Twenty percent of the treasure will be allocated to the state to be exhibited in a museum. The remaining will be yielded to the company and the Schmitts, confirmed Florida Today.

Queens Jewels hope the revival of these extremely rare gold pieces will inform the public about Spanish colonization in 1715.