A family in Florida with experience in treasure hunting discovered $300,000 worth of Spanish gold last weekend, USA TODAY reported.
Rick Schmitt, 65, and his family found a 64-foot-long gold chain, five gold coins, and a gold ring about 150 yards off of Fort Pierce, just 15 feet underwater.
The gold is nearly 300 years old and got lost in the ocean when 11 Spanish ships went down after a hurricane hit in 1715, which led to the area's nickname, "treasure coast."
Schmitt is a part of Booty Salvage, a Florida company that seeks out ocean treasures. They posted pictures and updates of their findings on their Facebook page.
Schmitt's 20-year-old daughter discussed how this was a huge find for her dad, whose been taking her out on treasure hunting expeditions for a long time on the family's boats -- Booty Quest and AARRR Booty -- and generally picked up beer cans.
However, the Schmitt family did find one gold coin last Labor Day, and Schmitt's son discovered a 300-years-old silver platter in 2002 worth $25,000.
The family will get to keep 80 percent of the gold and the rest will go to the state of Florida, who will put their share on display in a museum.
"It's about the history. It's who wore this, the respect for the person who was in the New World and had this made. It was probably his entire life savings," said Schmitt.
Local news station WPTV-TV reported that the worth of each coin is estimated at $30,000.
"It was a lot of emotion. The first was excitement followed by a lot of almost crying," said Schmitt.
Last month, another company dedicated to seeking shipwreck treasures found 48 gold coins worth $250,000 along the same Florida waters. In their three years of searching, this is the company's second time finding gold.
"It sounds glamorous, but it can take years to find anything," said Captain Greg Bounds. "A lot of times, it's beer cans, fishing weights, just garbage."
