Since it was sunk more than 250 years ago by Spanish cannon fire, the Lord Clive has lain off the southwest coast of Uruguay.

But next month a treasure hunter from Argentina will attempt to haul the British privateer out of the water - and with it, he hopes, £1bn of gold bullion thought to be on board.

Ruben Collado, who discovered the wreck in 2004 and is now leading the operation to raise it, said the coins could be worth €1.2bn. "And that is without considering goods such as rum, opium andsilk stored in lead pipes," he added.

On February 10 he will send a team of divers into the estuary of the River Plate to begin the recovery of the 64-gun vessel, a former Royal Navy ship built in Hull that sailed to South America onbehalf of the East India Company to bring funds and men for British military campaigns.

The ship was sunk by cannon fire in 1763 at the end of the Seven Years' War during an attempt to retake Colonia del Sacramento, a former colony of Britain's ally Portugal, which had been seized bythe Spanish.

The wreck, which lies 380 yards off the coast, is just 16ft down. But the Spanish loaded rocks on top of its hull to prevent it from floating to the surface, complicating its recovery. Colladoestimates the operation will require a team of 80 divers, technicians and support staff and cost £4m.

Collado says the effort is worth it not only for the ship's riches, but also for its cultural significance, arguing that its sinking changed the course of Latin American history.

"If that ship had not failed in its attempt to retake the city of Colonia del Sacramento, today we could be speaking English throughout Latin America," he said in an interview in 2015.

To read the complete article (subscription required), see:
Up she rises: £1bn in sunken British gold(www.thetimes.co.uk/article/up-she-rises-1bn-in-sunken-britishgold-5mrv6rqkh)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
TREASURE HUNTER SEEKS SUNKEN BRITISH SHIP OFF URUGUAY (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n46a30.html)

To read the complete article, see:
Treasure hunter plans to land £1BILLION gold bullion haul by bringing 250-year-oldBritish ship to the surface (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4169018/Treasure-hunter-plans-land-1BILLION-gold-bullion-haul.html)