Charlie, Yes.
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http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/gold-silver-from-1715-spanish-fleet-found-in-shallow-water-off-treasure/1106882
I don't know if you have seen this but it has some interesting information so I'll re-post it here.
Note that the lease holder says its all right to hunt above the low tide mark. Of course that doesn't account for local and state regulations which are going to vary from place to place. I live on the West Coast of Florida and have considered going over there but I need more information.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY ? A gold-rimmed portrait necklace, several gold and
silver coins and numerous artifacts from a 1715 Spanish fleet have been
discovered in about 10 feet of water off the aptly named Treasure
Coast.
The June 19 find just off Indian River Shores was revealed last week by
a firm that also said it has acquired the salvage rights to the sunken
ships from the heirs of world-famous treasure hunter Mel Fisher.
In 1715, an 11-ship fleet set sail from Cuba laden with gold bars,
coins, diamonds, emeralds and pearls bound for King Philip V of Spain.
The bounty included the dowry for Philip's new bride, Elisabeth. The
ships sank in a hurricane.
"The ships were blown into the reefs and sank, so they're relatively
close to shore," said Brent Brisben of Sebastian, who with his father,
William Brisben of Jupiter Island, formed Queen's Jewels and bought the
U.S. admiralty custodianship of the Spanish fleet and the right to
salvage the wrecked ships from Fisher's heirs.
The sites of six of the sunken ships have been found, some in only 10
feet to 20 feet of water. But the bulk of the treasure ? including the
queen's jewels, estimated to be worth close to $900 million ? still
hasn't been recovered.
Fisher earned the right to salvage the 1715 fleet after a 1982 ruling
from the U.S. Supreme Court gave him official admiralty custodianship
of the wrecks, a right subcontractor Greg Bounds compares to
registering a claim with the government to pan for gold.
Brisben declined to say how much he and his father paid for the salvage
right; but he's serious about safeguarding his 300-square-mile stake,
which extends from the low-tide mark into the ocean.
"People who might be considering 'pirating' artifacts from our claim
should know that to do so is a federal offense," Brisben said.
Still, Bounds said, anyone who has serious treasure fever "can hunt on
the beach all they want."
"The state gets 20 percent of the haul," Bounds said, "and gets to pick
the pieces it wants first. The rest will be split 50-50 between the
owners (the Brisbens) and the subcontractors who found it."
Brisben admitted he and his father, both experienced real estate
developers in Cincinnati, are "neophyte treasure hunters."
"The treasure is the lure, but it's the history that's so fascinating,"
he said. "To be involved with the archaeological recovery of these
treasures is the adventure of a lifetime and something we couldn't pass
up."
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