Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    17 tons of silver, gold coins from 1804 shipwreck are returned to Spain

    MADRID - Two military planes laden with 17 tons of silver and gold coins scooped up from a Spanish warship that sank during a 1804 gunbattle are back in Spain, ending a 200-year odyssey that took the treasure from an ocean floor to Florida courtrooms.

    The planes landed Saturday with the 594,000 coins and other artifacts retrieved after a five-year legal wrangle with the Florida-based salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration, which had taken the haul to the U.S. in May 2007.

    The deep-sea explorers found the treasure in a shipwreck, believed to be Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, off Portugal's Atlantic coast. British warships had sunk it as it approached Spain from South America.

    The coins are estimated at up to $500 million, making the haul one of the richest ever.

     
    • Mr.sockerskillz  •  1 mth 13 days ago
      I keep hearing that spain wants the coins because out of respect of their ancesters!!!!!! i SAY WHAT ABOUT ALL THE AZTEC AND MAYAN GOLD THAT ARE IN MUESEMS IN SPAIN???? DO THEY THINK ABOUT THE MEXICANS ANCESTERS??????? DIDNT THINK SO!!!!!!!!!!
    • Bea Jesus  •  Intercourse, Pennsylvania  •  2 mths ago
      Actually, Spain raped, looted and pillaged its way across Latin America, stealing this wealth from what became countries like Peru and Bolivia. Shouldn't this wealth be returned to the indigenous peoples of South America, the people from whom it was stolen?????
      • OTTO 2 mths ago
        Only God knows how much the Spanish stole............of course God would know since many Cathedrals were built and embellished with the gold and silver produced through the sweat and tears of indigenous peoples of South America (all of Latin America was victimized but this ship was returning from SA)
      • Tony 2 mths ago
        And you somehow are going to figure out the accounting?
      • OTTO 2 mths ago
        Tony, I suspect that someone has already computed the figures. The Spanish were incredibly thorough in their accounting of gold stolen for the Spanish Crown. The manifests have been well maintained over the centuries but it would take a few lifetimes to assemble the figures.
    • CarbonBasedLifeForm  •  2 mths ago
      Peru should sue Spain for the return of the gold and silver stolen from them....
      • J. 2 mths ago
        Maybe they will, one never knows, do one?
      • EF 2 mths ago
        This might actually open the door for that
    • Hvem er john galt  •  2 mths ago
      Next time let it sit and let Spain actually pay to get it. This may be legally correct, but it is morally theft. I think the Incas have rights to this as Spain stole it from Peru using Incan slaves to dig a refine it. This is a bad joke.
      • notcheap 2 mths ago
        You make a good point about the theft of the Inca treasure. See nothing has changed over the ages, the super rich get richer buy stealing from whatever source they can.
      • inthemoney69 2 mths ago
        New precedent: Never divulge to the public the source of any recovered materials.

        Spain deserves this as much as Greece does their bailout.
      • Joseph 2 mths ago
        Hey the spanish stole it fair and square!
    • watchman  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  2 mths ago
      Should have been dumped back into the ocean in the middle of a hurricane.
      • Steve 2 mths ago
        Yep I'd deep 6 that treasure, back in an undisclosed location...
      • common cents 2 mths ago
        along the Florida coast
    • Tool  •  Succasunna, New Jersey  •  2 mths ago
      too many lawyers.
      Just way....too many lawyers.
      Like ticks on a dog.....they are killing the host.
      • fred 2 mths ago
        What do you have when you have a thousand lawyers buried up to their necks in sand? NOT ENOUGH SAND!
    • s  •  2 mths ago
      God almighty, the AP reporting is lame.
      What happened to the salvage company?
      Did they get hosed?
      Or did they get paid at least a finders fee and salvage costs, or something for bringing the treasure up?
    • RONO  •  2 mths ago
      Should have dumped the treasure & the lawyers in the ocean.
    • RUSerious  •  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  •  2 mths ago
      If Spain's politicians are anything like ours, that money is already gone.
    • michaels  •  Altoona, Pennsylvania  •  2 mths ago
      ...Off the coast of Portgual. Sank by British Warships returning from South America." Show just how clueless Judges, Attorneys, are. Sank in the Atlantic Ocean, by British Warchips returning from South America. If these are the facts just how does SPAIN have any claim to these bounties? Is it just the fact the coins etc. were stolen from South America and were last in their possession. Spain Criminal Charges await..
    • uh oh no  •  Phoenix, Arizona  •  2 mths ago
      This is so wrong!
    • Gary T  •  Dayton, Ohio  •  2 mths ago
      Wow nice that Spain sat on their #$%$ and let someone else find it, eh?
    • Bubba  •  Augusta, Georgia  •  2 mths ago
      That will teach these treasure-hunters...Next time you find something, hide 90% of it in storage and sell the rest a little at a time....
    • WickedW  •  2 mths ago
      I would have dumped it back in the ocean with that ruling.
    • Citizen  •  2 mths ago
      Without regard to any other factors, does Spain owe us any $$$? Before we returned one coin of that trove to the Spanish government, all debts to the U.S. should've been PAID IN FULL. Fat chance, though.
    • GEHT  •  Columbia, South Carolina  •  2 mths ago
      you'e welcome Spain , and next time don't be so lazy and go get it yourself !
    • Apachetears  •  2 mths ago
      These riches were stolen from indigenous peoples of Mexico and south America so why give it to the thieves who stole it? Send this gold back to the country it came from.
    • deepwater  •  Ventura, California  •  2 mths ago
      And who says that crime doesn't pay...? The Spanish stole this loot fair and square...
    • RS  •  2 mths ago
      At a minimum, Odyssey Marine Exploration should be entitled to a Finder's Fee + Costs...
    • Robert  •  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma  •  2 mths ago
      Spain is still broke, and is in the same boat as Greek.
    [ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
    Jeff Greenfield on presidential psychology. Read now.
    The Signal crunches the numbers.
    The most secret scale model ever?
    Loading...
    • Members of the UN observers mission in Syria wait at a hotel lobby in Damascus
      Exclusive: Iran flouts U.N. sanctions, sends arms to Syria: panel Louis Charbonneau

      UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria remains the top destination for Iranian arms shipments in violation of a U.N. Security Council ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic, according to a confidential … More Â»Exclusive: Iran flouts U.N. sanctions, sends arms to Syria: panel

      Members of the UN observers mission in Syria wait at a hotel lobby in Damascus

      UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria remains the top destination for Iranian arms shipments in violation of a U.N. Security Council ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic, according to a confidential draft report by a U.N. panel of experts seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Iran, like Russia, is one of Syria's few allies …

    • Newly appointed caretaker PM Pikrammenos pauses as he talks during a meeting in Athens
      Judge to lead Greece to fateful June 17 election Harry Papachristou and Lefteris Papadimas

      ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece put a senior judge in charge of an emergency government on Wednesday to lead the nation to new elections on June 17 and bankers tried to calm public fears after the president … More Â»Judge to lead Greece to fateful June 17 election

      Newly appointed caretaker PM Pikrammenos pauses as he talks during a meeting in Athens

      ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece put a senior judge in charge of an emergency government on Wednesday to lead the nation to new elections on June 17 and bankers tried to calm public fears after the president said political chaos risked causing panic and a run on deposits. In a blow to confidence, the European Central Bank said …

    • France's new President Hollande attends a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
      Hollande names new French cabinet, Aubry out Brian Love and Daniel Flynn

      PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande named a government dominated by moderate left-wingers on Wednesday after Socialist Party boss Martine Aubry, overlooked for the post of prime minister, … More Â»Hollande names new French cabinet, Aubry out

      France's new President Hollande attends a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

      PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande named a government dominated by moderate left-wingers on Wednesday after Socialist Party boss Martine Aubry, overlooked for the post of prime minister, said she no longer wanted to be part of the new cabinet. Hollande, sworn in a day earlier as France's first Socialist …

    • Members of the U.N. observer mission in Syria are seen between destroyed houses in Sermeen, near the northern city of Idlib,
      Syria's Assad: Nations who "sow chaos" will suffer Khaled Yacoub Oweis

      AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that countries trying to "sow chaos" in Syria could be infected with it themselves, an apparent warning to Arab Gulf nations that back … More Â»Syria's Assad: Nations who "sow chaos" will suffer

      Members of the U.N. observer mission in Syria are seen between destroyed houses in Sermeen, near the northern city of Idlib,

      AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that countries trying to "sow chaos" in Syria could be infected with it themselves, an apparent warning to Arab Gulf nations that back the insurgency aimed at forcing him from power. Assad's remarks, to a Russian TV channel, came after U.N. staff monitoring …

    • Former Bosnian Serb army commander Mladic attends his trial at the ICTY at The Hague
      Mladic taunts survivors at start of genocide trial Anthony Deutsch and Ivana Sekularac

      THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic made a throat-slitting gesture to a woman who lost her son, husband and brothers in the Srebenica massacre at the start of his trial on Wednesday … More Â»Mladic taunts survivors at start of genocide trial

      Former Bosnian Serb army commander Mladic attends his trial at the ICTY at The Hague

      THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic made a throat-slitting gesture to a woman who lost her son, husband and brothers in the Srebenica massacre at the start of his trial on Wednesday for some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War Two. Mladic, now 70, flashed a defiant thumbs-up as he entered …