SEBASTIAN, Fla. — Florida's Treasure Coast earned its name from Spanish coins that washed ashore centuries ago — and the legendary treasure hunters who came to collect them.
Melvin Fisher-Abt is the grandson and namesake of one of America's most celebrated treasure hunters, Mel Fisher.
"I was born in 1997 and Mel passed in 1998 and out of all of the grandkids I was given the namesake Mel and I feel really connected to my grandfather in that way — definitely have big shoes to fill," Fisher-Abt said.
His grandfather was a man whose dedication and determination rewrote the history books. His discoveries were so remarkable that Johnny Carson invited him to share his story with millions of viewers on "The Tonight Show.'
Mel Fisher walked on stage wearing one of his favorite finds — a gold wedding chain.
"That's how he would look when he was sitting at the bar — draped in gold chains with gold bars," Fisher-Abt said.
But before the fame and fortune came persistence, perseverance, and personal loss.
Mel Fisher made his first discovery off the coast of Vero Beach, where over 1,000 gold coins were unearthed from the sunken 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet.
"Gold is a noble metal and will be just as shiny as the day it went down — gold shines forever is what my grandfather used to say," Fisher-Abt said.
In the 1600s and 1700s, Spanish fleets sailed annually from Spain to the Caribbean with a threefold mission.
"They were trying to extract wealth from the new world and bring it back to Spain to fund European wars and debts — they were trying to promote Catholicism," Fisher-Abt said. "They were trying to conquer land for the kingdom of Spain — so 'God, Glory and Gold' was their mission."
When some of those fleets shipwrecked in major storms, Florida became a hotspot for treasure hunters. One of them — the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha — sank in a powerful hurricane in 1622 off the coast of Key West.
Mel Fisher moved his family and crew to the Florida Keys specifically to search for the Atocha's buried treasure.
"Initially, he believed they would find it in six months and after six months he said alright maybe a year — and after a year he said alright maybe we'll be here for awhile," Fisher-Abt said. "He was an eternal optimist."
In 1973, Mel Fisher found a 14-foot galleon anchor he believed was from the Atocha.
"Everyday he would wake up and say today is the day — cause he believed it in his bones that one musket ball and one silver coin and an anchor would lead to a huge pile of treasure," Fisher-Abt said.
It was another 12 years before Mel and his team found the massive Atocha "Mother Lode" — an estimated $400 million to $450 million in gold, silver, coins, and emeralds.
But before the big find came the greatest test of Mel's determination, when tragedy struck. In 1975, their salvage vessel capsized and three crew members perished, including his eldest son.
"If there was ever a stopping point that my grandfather really considered giving up the hunt losing my uncle Dirk was that point in time," Fisher-Abt said.
Yet Mel chose to honor his son's memory by continuing the quest they shared.
"When he did get back to the site it was a renewed sense of finishing the job," Fisher-Abt said.
He found the Atocha's main treasure pile exactly 10 years to the day after his greatest loss. The search continues to this day.
"Along the way we've recovered all kinds of artifacts — religious artifacts — some of them are very intricate some are preserved very well deep in the mud," Fisher-Abt said.
According to Fisher-Abt, there is still much more to be found.
"The research that's been done and the work that's been done by the people before us is true and faithful and that everything they've done will pan out for us — there is another 20 tons of silver at the end of the rainbow," Fisher-Abt said.
For more information about Mel Fisher's Treasures, click here.
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