I saw something really inspiring on the news today. It was about some treasure hunters who found the biggest sunken treasure ever. They spent years searching for SS Republic, and used up all their savings, borrowed money from friends, took loans, had second jobs, etc. And they never gave up. They finally found their sunken ship and have removed most of the gold, and silver. The booty is estimated to be worth over $100 million dollars!

Here's a link to the story:

Article (http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_RelishArt icle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031775049959&path=!news!entertainment!television&s=1037645508994)

Good luck to them.... they deserve the spoils after being so persistent. It must have been a long hard search before they found it.

Wow, what a great success story and a lesson in dreams, dedication and persistence.

"Stemm and Morris spent more than 12 years searching for the Republic"

"They have already recovered more than 48,000 silver coins and about 5,000 gold coins. All told, the treasure from the Republic could be worth more than $100 million."

Thanks for posting this inspiring article Antiphrasis.

What percentage of the find will they get?

100%. As far as I know, they own whatever they find down there. Which is good, because they did all the work and spent their own money to fund it.

Arrrrrh! thet beez WAY Cool for thet'thar Scallvager team!

I duzzin't be knowin' 'bout enny Georgia lawz, but Florida en'a couple other states claim a hefty share o'the treasure found in theyz waters. Me understanding is theyz so-far collected precious little'a that booty.

Themz nuthin' but a buncha bureaucratanical scalliwags and profiteers! T'be thinkin' theyz be a fittin' partner in the sweat n' Dreams a'enny another - ARRRRH!
I sez ....... t'the plank be wit' 'emz ! Davy Jones, yer be meetin' yer new Crew maties rite directly!

Cap't MantaRayz
I ALWAYZ Amaze!

I didn't know the states take a large chunk. I guess I should have figured though. doesn't seem right at all. Those guys spend $10 million and work their tails off, I say it's theirs.

That is why I asked the question. The treasure has to belong to somebody, not necessarily the team who found it.

So I think it wont be long before someone claims to own the treasure.

Well, it depends on the situation. Except for taxes, the salvage team could get 100% of the booty if the ship has been considered abandoned. If it is not considered abandoned, they would get a significant reward, but the property would still belong to its original owner(s).

Shipwrecks are considered abandoned when:

In the United States, 30 days have passed and the original owner has not attempted salvaging the wreck.
In International Waters, the time period is less clear, but it is typically long enough for a claim to be completed with the insurance companies.
If it is a U.S. Navy ship, they must be officially stricken from the Navy list before it is considered abandoned, no matter how long it has been there.
Now, many states have tried to claim shipwrecks belong to them, such as the case in Florida, but when taken to federal courts, such claims are typically thrown out, and the property is given to those who salvaged it.

Here is an interesting article (http://www.libertyhaven.com/politicsandcurrentevents/scandalsorpoliticalinjustice/shipwreck.html) about salvage rights.