The 500,000 silver coins that Odyssey Marine has recovered may only be a part of the booty recovered from a 17th Century Merchant ship some believe is the Merchant Royal. According to a 17th century pamphlet from the British Museum there are survivors' accounts of the disaster and the attempts of seamen to save a treasure chest containing "300,000 pound in ready bullion and 100,000 pound in gold".
There are also reports that the vast personal wealth of the Captain, John Limbrey, went down with the ship as well. Some say that his wealth included 100,000 gemstones.