Divers strike gold again, off Florida coast

SEBASTIAN, Fla. (AP) — Divers off Florida’s east coast have struck gold, literally, for the second time in two months.

Four crew members from the ship S/V Capitana are telling the public Thursday about how they found $4.5 million in Spanish gold coins three weeks ago.

The coins come from the wreckage of a fleet of 11 colonial Spanish ships that sunk exactly 300 years ago off Florida’s east coast.

The loss of the ships and as many as 1,000 lives was considered one of colonial Spain’s biggest maritime disasters off Florida.

The latest discovery comes more than a month after a Florida family found $1 million of Spanish gold coins off the same coast.

In the latest discovery, the crew found nine coins called Royals that each is worth $300,000.