ORLANDO Fla. - A
Florida family scavenging for sunken treasure on a shipwreck has found
the missing piece of a 300-year-old gold filigree necklace sacred to
Spanish priests, officials said on Tuesday.
Eric
Schmitt, a professional salvager, was scavenging with his parents when
he found the crumpled, square-shaped ornament on a leisure trip to hunt
for artifacts in the wreckage of a convoy of 11 ships that sank in 1715
during a hurricane off central Florida's east coast.
After
the discovery last month, a team of Spanish historians realized the
piece fit together with another artifact recovered 25 years ago. It
formed an accessory called a pyx, worn on a chain around a high priest’s
neck to carry the communion host. The dollar value is uncertain.
"It's
priceless, unique, one of a kind," said Brent Brisben, operations
manager for Queens Jewels, which owns rights to the wreckage, located in
15-foot (4.5-meter) deep Atlantic Ocean waters.
Schmitt, who
lives near Orlando, last year discovered about $300,000 worth of gold
coins and chains from the same wreckage, Brisben said. Schmitt's parents
have hunted for sunken treasure as a hobby for a decade.
By
law, the treasure will be placed into the custody of the U.S. District
Court in South Florida, Brisben said. The state of Florida may take
possession of up to 20 percent of the find. The rest will be split
evenly between Brisben's company and the Schmitt family.
