Man Found Treasure Of Spanish Galleon At Flea Market

A New Mexico man Marcus Hudson bought a “rock” with $300 at an Albuquerque flea market. The “rock” is actually copper ballast from the famous Spanish galleon, the “Nuestra Senora de Atocha” (“Our Lady of Atocha”) that sank during a hurricane on Sep. 6, 1622 near Key West, Florida, while carrying tons of silver and gold.

Most probably some of the treasure from the Spanish galleon may be hidden inside the ballast.

The famous Spanish galleon was carrying treasure that worth about $450 million today. It was a common practice in 1600s to smuggle treasure in the ship’s ballasts in order to avoid paying tariffs.

Marcus Hudson is working together with a local museum to examine the copper ballast that he bought to find out whether there is anything kept inside.

Anyway, if there is nothing in the ballast, the copper ballast of Spanish galleon “Nuestra Senora de Atocha” still worth more than $10,000.