This is a great story.   Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing it along.  Congratulations to Bonnie Schubert and her 87-year old mother Jo,  two highly successful salvage divers.

Elderly woman, daughter find incredible ocean treasure

After decades of hunting for treasure along Florida’s coasts, a woman and her elderly mother have made the find of a lifetime.

Bonnie Schubert and her 87-year old mother Jo were diving near Frederick Douglass Beach when they made the discovery: a 22-carat solid gold bird, a relic which they believe dates back to the lost Spanish Fleet of 1715.

“The first thing that came into focus was the head of the bird and the wing … And it was something I never imagined,” Bonnie Schubert recalled.

The fleet of Spanish galleons wrecked near Ft. Pierce, littering the ocean floor with what divers believe to be millions of dollars in gold and jewels.

“It’s truly been amazing,” said Brent Brisbane, a principal with 1715 Fleet-Queen’s Jewels, LLC, the corporation that holds the rights to treasure hunting in the region. “It’s not something we could have ever predicted.”

Brisbane had the item appraised by Dubose and Sons Jewelers in Vero Beach.  “They came back with an appraisal of $885,000,” he said.

For now, dividing the spoils could tricky. As contractors, Bonnie and Jo typically get half of what they find. Brisbane, who holds the rights to treasure hunting in region, gives 20 percent to the state of Florida.