The world's greatest shipwrecks and their treasures
Incredible shipwreck discoveries

Mary Rose

Mary Rose

Vasa

Vasa

Caesarea Treasure

Caesarea Treasure

S.S. Central America

S.S. Central America

The ship was eventually rediscovered by the Columbus-America Discovery Group in 1988 and $150 million-worth of gold was salvaged. Thta's the equivalent of $325 million (£268m)-worth today. The Group's head honcho Tommy Gregory Thompson, who sold $52 million-worth in 2000, was later sued by investors for not delivering on their returns.
Santa Margarita

Santa Margarita

La Belle

La Belle

Minjiang Treasure

Minjiang Treasure

S.S. Gairsoppa

S.S. Gairsoppa

Queen Anne's Revenge

Queen Anne's Revenge

Private marine exploration company Intersal discovered the wreck in November 1996, and have spent years salvaging the notorious pirate's booty. The retrieved treasures include a wine glass stem decorated with diamonds and tiny gold crowns, an ornate sword guard and coins depicting Queen Anne.
Whydah Gally

Whydah Gally

Antikythera Treasure

Antikythera Treasure

Uluburun Treasure

Uluburun Treasure

Nuestra Señora de Atocha

Nuestra Señora de Atocha

Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes

Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes

San José

San José

Regarded as 'the Holy Grail of shipwrecks', the location of the vessel was finally pinpointed in 2015 by the Colombian Navy, and a salvage operation was announced in July 2018. However, this was halted in March this year following several legal issues, such as if the recovered treasures could pay for the search operation. According to the experts, between $1 billion (£827m) and $20 billion (£16.5bn)-worth of gold, silver and emeralds could potentially be recovered from the wreck.
RMS Titanic

We can't forget about the most famous shipwreck of all time, the RMS Titanic. The luxury cruise liner was built at a cost of $7.5 million in 1912, which is the equivalent of $198 million (£164m) today. But the ship hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 on its way to New York City. The ship is known for the tragic loss of over 1,500 passengers and many valuable items were also lost during the disaster.
RMS Titanic

The ship sat at the bottom of the ocean for seven decades until it was discovered in 1985 by a joint American-French expedition. Over the past 25 years excavators have uncovered around 5,000 artefacts from the wreckage. Lost valuables range from more than $300 million (£248m) worth of diamonds to a priceless manuscript by writer Joseph Conrad and five grand pianos worth thousands of dollars.
RMS Republic
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The Titanic's sister ship, the RMS Republic, also faced disaster just three years before the Titanic's iconic tragedy, colliding with the SS Florida (pictured) during its maiden voyage in January 1909. The Republic flooded with water after crashing and sank off the coast of Nantucket, causing six casualties in total, three from each of the ships.
RMS Republic

It's estimated that the valuables that went down with the ship were worth over $1 billion (£828.6m), including U.S Navy Payroll worth around $60,000 and a secret shipment of American Eagle gold coins worth over $3 million, allegedly intended for the Czar of Russia, that would be worth $84.5 million (£69.8m) in today's money.
Igara wreck

The Igara is another costly shipwreck that sank off the coast of Indonesia in March 1973. The cargo ship carrying over 127 thousand tonnes of Brazillian iron ore struck a rock in the South China sea and later sank into the 40-metre deep waters.
Igara wreck

The ship was valued at over $25 million (£20.7m), making it the largest ever single marine insurance loss in history at the time. The entire rear section of the ship was later salvaged and used for a new ship in Japan.
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