How an historic sea booty slipped through Odyssey’s fingers

How an historic sea booty slipped through Odyssey’s fingers

Posted by Charleston Voice, 05.31.12

Culmination of a fascinating story. See our previous posts on how Hillary’s State Department and insider connections to her played out for the benefit of Spain:

Charleston Voice: US Congressmen & Hillary Clinton Broker Deal to …Feb 23, 2012 … (Odyssey Marine Exploration, File/Associated Press) – FILE – This April 2007 photo provided by Odyssey Marine Exploration, shows Odyssey …

Charleston Voice: Treasure hunters eye huge silver haul from WWII …Sep 26, 2011 … Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration on Monday confirmed the identity and location of the Gairsoppa and cited official documents …

Charleston Voice: Battle for Sunken Treasure Reaches Gibraltar – a …Apr 3, 2012 … Remember, this is the private treasure found by Odyssey, but stolen by Hillary … Odyssey Marine Exploration, a company that specialises in …

How an historic sea booty slipped through Odyssey’s fingers
A US treasure-hunting company recently failed in its attempt to claim ownership of the $500 million treasure trove it discovered off the Spanish coast. The dispute over the booty of the ‘Mercedes’ had drawn in Spain’s government, a US court and Washington lawmakers.

By Marty Delfin

With the “Mercedes” treasure safe in Spain, the five-year legal battle over an estimated 594,000 silver and gold coins recovered from a 19th-century shipwreck finally came to a close earlier this month. Not only was it a costly public dispute for all parties engaged, but it involved a canny behind-the-scenes ruse blending greed, deceit, political intrigue and even mutiny within Odyssey Marine Exploration, which eventually saw all the half-million historic minted pieces plucked from its hands after losing one court battle after another.

The Tampa-based underwater salvager fought hard to keep the trove, but to no avail. On May 14, the US Supreme Court rejected Odyssey’s final appeal in the company’s last-ditch hope not only to remain with the coins but also to set a precedent in international finders-keepers litigation.

The 1804 sinking of the ‘Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes’ as painted by Francis Sartorius.