Rick Schmitt American treasure hunter Country: USA

Rick Schmitt's Biography

Rick Schmitt is an American treasure hunter who, along with his wife, Lisa, and their children, Hillary and Eric, has an unusual family hobby of searching for treasures. Their shared passion for spending quality time together led them on countless adventures and finally yielded impressive results.

After years of wandering and searching, the Schmitt family managed to discover a genuine treasure. The sunken treasure was located 137 meters off the coast near Fort Pierce. The courageous family unearthed five gold coins, a gold ring, and approximately 19.5 meters of delicate gold chains. This treasure was only a small fraction of the cargo carried by a convoy of 11 ships from Havana to Spain in the 18th century. Unfortunately, this convoy was destroyed by a devastating hurricane near the Florida coast.

The story of this convoy and its demise has been the inspiration for movies, such as "The Deep" in 1977 and "Fool's Gold" in 2008. According to archival data, the ships were transporting valuables worth $400 million. Since the sinking, divers and treasure hunters have recovered objects worth $175 million, indicating that more than half of the convoy's cargo still lies at the bottom of the ocean.

Brent Brisben, the owner of "1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels LLC," which holds the rights to the sunken ships, has already commented on the Schmitt family's discovery. Brisben's company acquired the rights to the wreckage site from the legendary treasure hunter Mel Fisher. Currently, Brisben's firm regularly enters into contracts with individuals interested in searching for new parts of the treasure.

Brisben was particularly thrilled that a family team made this latest discovery. He specifically praised their unique way of enjoying their leisure time. This is not the first successful venture for the Schmitt family in the field of treasure hunting. In 2002, they managed to retrieve a silver dish worth $25,000 from the depths.

According to state and national laws, the treasure will be handed over to representatives of the district court. The state will be able to claim up to 20% of the treasure for display in major state museums, while the remaining portion will be divided between the Schmitt family and Brisben.