If the San Jose is ever recovered cob collectors won't have anything to worry about.
Stan
SAN JOSE - The San José is considered to be one of the richest treasure ships ever lost in the Western Hemisphere. She sank in about 1,000 feet of water on June 8th, 1708. This loss resulted from a battle with an English squadron. Due to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession, no treasure had been sent from South America to Spain for a period of six years. English Commodore Charles Wager tracked down the treasure-laden ship 16 miles off Cartagena and sunk it in 1000 feet of water. The San José was loaded with eleven million pesos (about 344 tons of gold and silver coins). 116 chests of emeralds, and the personal wealth of the Viceroy of Peru. Admiral Wager described the action, "It was just sunset when I engaged the Admiral [San Jose], and in about an hour and a half, it being them quite dark, the Admiral blew up. I being than along his side, not a half pistol's shot from him, so that the heat of the blast came very hot upon us, and several splinters of plank and timber came on board us afire. We soon threw them overboard. I believe the ship's side blew out, for she caused a sea that came in our ports. She immediately sank with all her riches." An eyewitness report indicates that it went down off Baru Island, between the Isla del Tesoro (known as Treasure Island) and Baru Peninsula, in an area near Cartagena, in what is today known as Colombia. The estimated Value of the cargo today is more than 1 Billion US dollars.
