Satori
Full Member
By Antoinette Antonio
KOB/NBC News Channel
Albuquerque, NM -- A New Mexico man believes he's struck gold at an Albuquerque flea market. Collector Marcus Hudson paid $300 for what at first glance appears to be an old rock.
It's actually a copper ballast from a Spanish ship, the "Nuestra Senora de Atocha," that sank in 1622. The ship had a treasure on board that would be worth as much as $400 million today, and some of it may be hidden inside Marcus Hudson's ballast.
Treasure was often hidden in the ship's ballasts to avoid paying tariffs in the 1600s. Hudson and a local museum are working to have the ballast examined to see if anything is inside. Even if the ballast is empty it is still worth tens of thousands of dollars.
KOB/NBC News Channel
Albuquerque, NM -- A New Mexico man believes he's struck gold at an Albuquerque flea market. Collector Marcus Hudson paid $300 for what at first glance appears to be an old rock.
It's actually a copper ballast from a Spanish ship, the "Nuestra Senora de Atocha," that sank in 1622. The ship had a treasure on board that would be worth as much as $400 million today, and some of it may be hidden inside Marcus Hudson's ballast.
Treasure was often hidden in the ship's ballasts to avoid paying tariffs in the 1600s. Hudson and a local museum are working to have the ballast examined to see if anything is inside. Even if the ballast is empty it is still worth tens of thousands of dollars.
