http://shipwreck.net/pr162.html
Spain's Claim To One Of Odyssey's Shipwreck Cases Dismissed
"Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NasdaqCM: OMEX), the world leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, announced today that Spain's claim in Admiralty case number 8:07-CV-00616 has been dismissed pursuant to a motion filed on behalf of the Government of Spain. The shipwreck in this case is believed to be a 20th century passenger liner reported to be carrying valuable cargo.
Following Odyssey's May 2007 announcement of the recovery of 17 tons of silver and gold coins from the "Black Swan" site, Spain filed claims with the U.S. District Court's Tampa Division in three of the Company's pending admiralty arrests. Odyssey made it clear that the Company was unaware of evidence suggesting any potential Spanish interest in the site, yet Spain pursued its claim without providing any information as to the basis for that claim.
"We are very pleased that Spain has acknowledged that its claim to this particular shipwreck is unfounded, and we are now looking forward to moving ahead in resolving all issues expeditiously with the other two cases," said Greg Stemm, Odyssey's Chief Executive Officer.
"Technically, Spain's dismissal of its claim in this case has no bearing on the other two arrests, but this shows that just because Spain files a claim against a particular wreck site does not mean it has a valid basis, or as in this case, any evidence whatsoever to support that claim," commented Melinda MacConnel, General Counsel for Odyssey."
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/florida/flmdce/8:2007cv00616/197307/94/
Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice
"Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a), Claimant Kingdom of Spain gives notice of voluntary dismissal of its Verified Claim in this case (Dkt. 14), based on examination of evidence disclosed by plaintiff pursuant to Orders of the Court indicating that the res in this case is the Italian vessel Ancona. Claimant reserves the right to refile a Verified Claim, without waiver of its sovereign immunity and other jurisdictional defenses and immunities, in the event that any future information indicates an interest of Claimant in the vessel or its contents.
Respectfully submitted on April 2, 2008"
The Ancona
The Ancona was a passenger ship that was sunk in 1915 by a German u-boat in the Mediterranean. Supposedly the ship's manifest stated that the Anconda was carrying "12 barrels of gold and a shipment of silver bars". It's hard to determine just how much gold this is but a conservative guess is that the melt value is no less than $25Mil in today's value.
Of course, the numismatic value could be far greater that that.