A cannon, three coins and a porcelain cup are among the first objects recovered by Colombian scientists from the depths of the Caribbean Sea where the legendary Spanish galleon San José sank in 1708 after being attacked by a British fleet.

The recovery is part of a scientific investigation authorised by the government last year to study the wreckage and the causes of the sinking. Colombian researchers located the galleon in 2015, leading to legal and diplomatic disputes. Its exact location is a state secret.

The San José was returning to Europe with treasures to help fund the war of the Spanish succession when it was sunk by a British squadron close to the Caribbean port city of Cartagena.

Colombia's culture ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the cannon, coins and porcelain cup would undergo a conservation process at a laboratory dedicated to the expedition.

The ship has been the subject of a legal battle in the US, Colombia and Spain over who owns the rights to the sunken treasure.

Colombia is in arbitration litigation with Sea Search Armada, a group of US investors, for the economic rights of the San José. The firm claims $10bn, corresponding to what it assumes is 50% of the worth of the galleon treasure, which it claims to have discovered in 1982.

To read the complete article, see:
Colombian scientists recover first treasures from 'holy grail of shipwrecks'(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/21/san-jose-shipwreck-billions-treasure-artifacts-colombia)

1715 Fleet Society President Ben Costello adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE LEGENDARY SAN JOSE WRECK(https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n28a23.html)