The Richest Shipwreck Ever Holds Around $18 Billion In Treasure

Source: History Facts
Photo: San José ship, 1708

When the San José first set sail in 1698, it probably wasn’t expecting to be making headlines three centuries later. The 64-gun galleon belonging to the Spanish navy sank in 1708’s Battle of Barú, but that wasn’t the end of its story. Long known as the “holy grail” of shipwrecks, the San José met its watery end off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, with 200 tons of gold and emeralds aboard. It’s presumed to be worth as much as $18 billion, which explains why several different entities have laid claim to the shipwreck since its discovery in the 1980s.

That includes Spain (who launched it), Colombia (near whose coast it now resides), the American salvage company that found it, and Indigenous groups in South America whose people originally mined the treasure in Bolivia. Court battles over the riches have been held in Colombia, the United States, and even the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. The case is unlikely to be settled anytime soon, with at least one expert, Colombian maritime archaeologist Juan Guillermo Martín, suggesting a novel solution: Leave the San José and its treasure undisturbed at the bottom of the ocean.

By the Numbers

Shipwrecks in the world
~3 million

Crew members aboard the San José when it sank
~600

Ships sunk during World War II
15,227

Box-office gross of 2011’s Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
$342.7 million

Did you know?

It took more than 70 years to find the Titanic.

Despite being out of sight for more than seven decades after it sank during its maiden voyage, the Titanic has never truly been out of mind. The tragedy has compelled people for well over a century now, inspiring countless books, movies, and other works of art. Even more significant, perhaps, is the fact that it did all this before the ship was found. After several failed attempts, the Titanic was discovered on September 1, 1985, during an expedition led by oceanographers Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel. What they found ran counter to conventional wisdom, as most believed the ship had sunk in one piece, not two. The two main parts were found nearly 400 miles southwest of Newfoundland and lie about a third of a mile from each other. They were found at a depth of 12,500 feet in a part of the ocean known as the midnight zone, due to the fact that it receives no sunlight.

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