TAMPA, Fla. — Treasure hunters found and recovered more than 1,000 silver coins from shipwrecks off Florida’s coast that date back to the 1700s. 

While that might sound like the plotline of a movie or TV show, it was a real-life discovery for Captain Levin Shavers and the crew of M/V Just Right. 

They are part of Queen Jewels, LLC, which is a historic shipwreck salvage operation that has exclusive salvage rights to the remains of the 1715 Treasure Fleet shipwrecks.

The fleet was made up of about 12 ships transporting New World riches to Spain from Cuba when a hurricane hit, and it sank in July 1715 off the Treasure Coast, according to Queens Jewels. The Treasure Coast encompasses Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties.

Historians estimate that as much as $400 million worth of gold, silver and jewels were lost in the storm.

As divers uncover priceless artifacts each summer, Captain Shavers and his team found the silver coins in addition to five gold coins called Escudos and other rare gold artifacts worth more than $1 million. 

“This discovery is not only about the treasure itself, but the stories it tells,” Sal Guttuso, the director of operations, said. “Each coin is a piece of history, a tangible link to the people who lived, worked, and sailed during the Golden Age of the Spanish Empire. Finding 1,000 of them in a single recovery is both rare and extraordinary.”

The silver coins are known as pieces of eight and were minted in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia. Many of them still have visible dates and mint marks, making them important to historians and collectors. 

The condition of the coins suggests they were part of a single chest or shipment that spilled when the ship broke apart. 

They will undergo careful conservation before being displayed to the public. Queens Jewels’ staff said plans are underway for select pieces to be exhibited at local museums.