Treasure Found : Cannon found off Sebastian contained hidden gold, silver coins

SEBASTIAN ? Dozens of gold and silver coins hidden nearly 300 years ago were found Friday when a cannon recovered  from a wrecked Spanish ship was being cleaned for preservation, salvagers this week.

Divers from the salvage boat "Gold Hound" brought up the ship's bronze swivel cannon, a rare find in itself, in less than 20 feet of water between Wabasso and Vero Beach, said Anne Kazel-Wilcox, a spokeswoman for 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels, a private salvage company based in Sebastian and Jupiter.

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The heavily-encrusted cannon was taken to the Mel Fisher's Treasures facility in Sebastian for preservation, Kazel-Wilcox said, "and as workers were conserving it, the cannon became unplugged and coins were found inside."

In addition to 22 gold coins found near the cannon, 25 gold coins and 63 silver coins were found inside, worth an estimated $500,000 or more.

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"This is an amazing historic find," Greg Bounds of Fellsmere, captain of the Gold Hound, said in a prepared statement. "We found treasure within the treasure. This is right out of ?Pirates of the Caribbean,' except this is the real thing. For centuries there has been talk of treasure possibly hidden inside of cannons, but up until today that was only pirate lore. Now it's the real deal."

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