Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1629: Chapter 1613: The Origin of the Gold Coins

The sinking of the 1715 fleet is perhaps one of the most devastating maritime disasters in history, dealing an almost catastrophic blow to the Spanish Empire.

According to historical records, the 1715 fleet carried gold and silver coins worth approximately 7 million Escudos in total. The sinking of these 11 ships meant that gold and silver equivalent to at least three years of tribute from Spanish North America disappeared into the sea.

From this great maritime disaster arose the relentless efforts of pirates, adventurers, and treasure hunters over the last three centuries, along with their legendary stories that have captivated many.

Back then, the sinking of the fleet was a world-shocking event, and the news quickly spread across the streets.

To prevent the militarily and politically powerful Englishmen from getting a lead, Spain launched several large-scale salvage operations in the years following the disaster.

The specific results of the salvage were unknown, but it was claimed that nearly half of the assets stranded in coastal waters had been recovered by the Spanish.

However, shortly after the disaster, the involvement of the Englishmen disrupted Spain’s efforts. Coupled with English pirates harassing various Latin American routes, the Spanish were unable to focus their attention on salvaging the remaining treasures.

The salvage of the fleet’s treasures gradually fell into obscurity by the mid-to-late 18th century.

Another hundred years passed, and in modern times, the salvage of these coins began around the late 1950s.

Due to storms and tides, many gold and silver coins were continually discovered near the coast and even on the beaches of Florida, rekindling interest in the legend of the 1715 fleet treasures after two hundred years.

To ensure the legal ”extraction” of the treasure, the Florida government even issued relevant regulations: treasure hunters could contract sea areas, but must declare all obtained treasures and submit 20% of the harvest to the state government.

To this day, the treasures of the 1715 fleet remain a fashionable topic among collectors. People have heard the term ”1715 Fleet” for fifty years, and treasure hunters have made several recoveries of these treasures, with the most famous being the Schmidt Family, which once salvaged 18th-century Spanish shipwreck coins worth millions in Florida.

These salvaged coins are hand-struck coins, mostly priced between 1,000 and 20,000 US dollars. This is why Huo Sining previously thought the few Spanish coins she held were not very valuable because Spanish coins are common in the market and are not considered particularly rare or precious.

However, Huo Sining was evidently mistaken. The prices of these hand-struck coins are low due to their abundance, and since these items are royal currencies, they are merely in name only.

In fact, the Viceroyalty of New Spain minted hand-struck gold and silver coins in the early 18th century, which are colloquially known as ”Cob” in English—a translation for ”chunky coins” in Chinese—similar to the ancient gold and silver ingots circulated in Huaxia Country. They are not particularly special, only labeled as royal gold coins because they were officially issued.

What made Ji Kun worry so much, even making an overseas call to inquire, was because the four coins in Huo Sining’s possession were fundamentally different from those salvaged in Florida.

These coins held by Huo Sining were not circulation coins but were specially minted for the king.

Huo Sining found online that six or seven years ago, at the American Heritage Auction, a Spanish royal special coin was auctioned. Minted in 1772, it sold for 250,000 US dollars, with a total transaction price of 293,750 US dollars, approximately 300,000.

The media reports at the time included a clear photo of the special coin, and when Huo Sining compared the gold coins in her possession with the auctioned special coin, she found them to be very similar. The only difference was that the coins she held had the year 1771 instead of 1772.

Seeing this, Huo Sining realized why Ji Kun valued the coins she held so highly.

Unexpectedly, the few coins she randomly picked up in the captain’s room were incredibly valuable, leaving Huo Sining stunned, muttering to herself, ”What a stroke of **** luck.”

Just as Huo Sining figured out the coins’ origin, a call from Liu Cheng came in:

”Miss Huo, something big happened!”

Huo Sining was taken aback and asked bewilderedly, ”What big thing happened?”

Liu Cheng replied, ”I just received a lot of calls, all asking about the photo you posted on Weibo. Some unfamiliar big bosses even said they’re willing to offer a high price to buy your coins, and there’s also a call from the English Embassy, asking me to verify whether you actually found coins on the beach. A wave of reporters is insisting on an exclusive interview...”

”What?”

Huo Sining felt dumbfounded upon hearing this; she hadn’t expected that a mere Weibo post would cause such a stir.

This made Huo Sining feel a bit embarrassed, and she quickly logged onto Weibo to check the situation.

Indeed, in just over an hour, her post about finding treasure on the beach had already hit the trending list, with even more momentum building.

Below that post, there were already tens of thousands of comments and shares, and the numbers were rising. Many netizens expressed doubt and curiosity.

——Can you really find treasure on the beach?

——What luck is this? Envy!

——Location, location, Miss Huo is in Dover, there are coins to pick up on the beach there!

——The English government won’t be like Huaxia Country, where you have to surrender treasure found on the beach to the state, right?

——You all are just making a fuss; it’s just four coins, nothing to get worked up about—they’re not worth much, right?

——What do you know upstairs, I checked the information, these are 18th-century Spanish royal coins, each worth over ten thousand RMB!

——Hey, did upstairs really check the information? You’re not here to joke, are you? Don’t expose your intelligence; those are special coins made for the Spanish king, special coins! Years ago, one already sold for 300,000 US dollars!

——What the heck, did upstairs mean it—300,000 each? Then wouldn’t four be over a million US dollars?!

——Not really, that was several years ago; the price now is likely not the same!

——I belong to the European antique circle, these coins were specially made for Spanish King Philip V, ”royal gold coins,” each unique. The current price should be over 500,000 US dollars, auction house prices are only higher!

——Whoa...