500$ Million In Sunken Treasure Returning to Spain

[WriteDown]

Source: Fox News

MIAMI — A U.S. district judge has ruled that U.S. treasure-hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration should return to Spain a fortune in old coins recovered from the wreck of a 19th-century Spanish warship.

In an order filed in Tampa, Florida Tuesday, Judge Steven Merryday nevertheless directed that the return of the treasure to Spain be stayed until an appeals process in the case was concluded. It was the latest twist in a complex dispute over the treasure involving Spain, Odyssey and Peru.

Merryday's order backed a recommendation by a U.S. magistrate judge in June that Odyssey should hand over to the Spanish government nearly 600,000 silver and gold coins valued at some $500 million that it recovered from the wreck of the 19th-century Spanish warship Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes.

Spain said the Spanish naval frigate was carrying treasure back from Peru when it was sunk by British gunboats in 1804.....

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2009/12/23/plundered-booty-returning-spain/?test=latestnews

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Tough one, but at this point I'd say finders keepers.

[pansypoo53219]

1. fuck spain

they stole it from south america.

[inna]

28. exactly, they stole it.

shouldn't it be returned to Peru instead??

[glitch]

32. No kidding. :( nt

[MaineDem]

43. My first thought, too. n/t

[Tx4obama]

2. If they can't keep it they should take it out to the ocean and dump it in....

let Spain go out there and find it :)

[Libertas1776]

3. Oops...

sorry Spain, it was an accident...tee hee :evilgrin:

[krkaufman]

4. chuckle

good one.

(send it via boat, and let it sink in the middle of the Atlantic)

[boppers]

5. They had 105 years (!) to recover it.

They didn't bother, so they lose.

[Tansy_Gold]

14. 105 . . . . . or 205? n/t

[boppers]

38. Whoops, bad math!

You're right!

[proteus_lives]

6. I'll cite the case law of Finders V. Keepers.

[comtec]

8. Which is in fact the law of the sea for THOUSANDS of years!

this is such utter bullshit!

Are they at least going to pay for all the work? I'd say 50 million while VASTLY under valued would be a good start!

[Thothmes]

40. Not always so.

The Spanish claim the ship was a Spanish Naval vessel. Salvage laws change when it comes to warships. The U.S. Navy does not allow salvage of any U.S. ship sunk during any war. Think that is the basis of the Spanish claim.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

34. Don't forget Losers V. Weepers.

Precedent setting.

[Botany]

7. 206 year old sunken ship .... screw 'em

I would bring up the case of Juan Pizarro y Alonso ...... he told an Inca ruler that if he would
have a room filled w/ gold & silver as high as he could touch up a wall then he would let the
native person go. Long story short the room was filled w/ gold and silver then Juan had the
man killed anyway.

[SpiralHawk]

12. Down with the Conquistadors! I always say

And their Damn Ungodly hateful Papal Requerimiento.

http://www.8thfire.net/Day_169.html

"Coronado’s aide then read to the people a requerimiento -- a formal declaration of sovereignty, and a set of demands. The requerimiento asserted that the Popes -- who claimed to be successors of the man god Jesus Christ through his apostle Peter -- held god's authority for rulership over the entire Earth. The declaration also said that the Pope had the right to share his supreme rulership with allied kings and their armies, and that to all of this the native people must swear immediate allegiance.

"The formal demands were unitelligible to the natives because they were read in Latin. In essence, the requerimiento said: If you do not surrender completely now and bow down and worship our god, we will subject you to the yoke and obedience of the church and the king. We will take your wives and children, and we will make them slaves…We will take your property…We declare that the deaths and injuries that occur as a result of this would be your fault, not ours…"

[JCMach1]

9. Well in that case what about the indigenous people the Spanish stole this from???

The judge should take a flying leap!

[USA_1]

29. Amen!

What imperialistic thievery!

[TheWatcher]

10. That's Nothing. Now the 23 Trillion and counting stolen by the Banksters?

THAT'S a Story.

[rpannier]

11. Peru should make a claim as well

Why should Spain get the gold and silver they stole from Peru?

[SkyDaddy7]

13. My thoughts exactly!

$500,000,000.00 could go along way in Peru! I think the Vatican should have to melt down the Vatican and return the gold to S. America as well! However, something tells me many if not most South Americans are so firmy indoctrinated that they would argue against their own economic well being if they were given the choice. Religion has funny way of doing such things to the human thought process.

[saigon68]

23. Opiate of the Masses

[Hassin Bin Sober]

17. The article says they are entering the fray.

[Thickasabrick]

30. +1

[theblasmo]

15. Law of the Briny Deep

Whatever you find, you keep!

[FourScore]

16. They should split it. n/t

[cowcommander]

20. 50% to the salvagers, 50% to Peru

And a big FUCK YOU to Spain, they don't deserve any of that wealth at ALL.

[WriteDown]

24. Darn, I was hoping to post this idea first! nt

[RedCloud]

18. Hey I put MY oro in that barco!

I didn't trust the banks.

[RedCloud]

19. And I put my platinum et alia in this ship...

I had no confidence in the ruble.

A treasure-filled vessel discovered off the coast of Guyana may contain 10 tonnes of gold, 70 tonnes of platinum, 1 1/2 tonnes of industrial diamonds and 16 million carats of gem-quality diamonds, making it the most valuable underwater discovery ever.

http://www.windowstorussia.com/2009/01/from-russia-sunken-treasure-ship-with.html

[cstanleytech]

21. What are exactly the laws regarding salvage in this case though?

I myself would side with the company and not spain but thats just me.

[WriteDown]

25. That seems to be EVERYONE's opinion. Except Spain of course.

:)

[arcos]

22. When is Spain going to give back all the gold they stole from indians in the Americas?

Why is this treasure "returning to Spain" if it was being carried from Perú?

[WriteDown]

26. That a serious question?

:shrug:

[skoalyman]

27. so moral of the story is, If you find treasure at sea leave it were it lies

Because in the end you could be digging it up for nothing.

[customerserviceguy]

31. No, the moral of the story is

if you find gold or silver at the bottom of the ocean, take it back and melt it into something unrecognizable as to its origin, and say you got it out of some played-out mine that you bought as "insurance".

[rpannier]

36. agreed

say you found it elsewhere. in a place you own

[Nothing Without Hope]

33. Should go to Peru, not Spain. The Spanish invaders stole it from Peru. n/t

[Lars77]

35. Should be given to the natives of Peru n/t

[Mudoria]

37. Spain should give it all back to Peru as reparations

then the Peruvians should give the salvagers 25% in thanks for the help in recovering the stolen loot.

[IndianaGreen]

39. The gold belongs to Peru

not to the country that raped and pillaged Peru for its gold.

[DrCory]

41. Agreed! N/T

[totodeinhere]

42. Agreed. But Garcia and the gang shouldn't be able to get their hands on it.

It should go to improve the lives of the poor indigenous peoples of Peru. But of course realistically, that won't happen.

[Vehl]

44. Should be given the the people of Peru

Span has no right whatsoever to claim this.!
Daylight Robbery!

Is there any way for the Peruvians to get this money back?

[chemenger]

45. Accoring to maritime law

A pure or merit salvage award will seldom exceed 50 percent of the value of the property salved. The exception to that rule is in the case of treasure salvage. Because sunken treasure has generally been lost for hundreds of years, while the original owner (or insurer, if the vessel was insured) continues to have an interest in it, the salvor or finder will generally get the majority of the value of the property. While sunken ships from the Spanish Main (such as Nuestra Señora de Atocha in the Florida Keys) are the most commonly thought of type of treasure salvage, other types of ships including German submarines from World War II which can hold valuable historical artifacts, American Civil War ships (the USS Maple Leaf in the St. Johns River, and the CSS Virginia in Chesapeake Bay), and sunken merchant ships (the SS Central America off Cape Hatteras) have all been the subject of treasure salvage awards. Due to refinements in side-scanning sonars, many ships which were previously missing are now being located and treasure salvage is now a less risky endeavor than it was in the past, although it is still highly speculative.

Seems to me the judge is in error here.