Hidden $2,400 coin makes dives to the Vandy a treasure hunt

On 30/11/2009
In Treasure Hunting / Recoveries
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By Kevin Lollar - News Press

Documentary filmmaker Pat Clyne has hidden a $2,400 silver coin from the 17th-century Spanish galleon Atocha on the 523-foot Hoyt S. Vandenberg, and the rule is finders keepers.

Clyne has done his share of treasure hunting: For more than 30 years, he worked for Mel Fisher, whose crews have salvaged more than $500 million in treasure from the Atocha and her sister ship the Margarita.

The coin is in a black tin box with magnets on the back; whoever finds it can e-mail Clyne, who will send the diver the coin's certificate of authenticity, signed by Fisher.

Why would Clyne give up a historically significant $2,400 silver coin ?

"Because I can ?" he asked rhetorically. "I have a couple left over, and I thought it would be exciting for divers.

Besides the aesthetics of the dive itself, this gives them a little something to keep their eyes peeled for."