Odyssey Marine released a "Preliminary Survey & Identification" with some fantastic pictures of the shipwreck : http://tinyurl.com/cenvb9
Also release was this FAQ statement today. Full Release: http://tinyurl.com/dx6nm4
February 2, 2009
What was HMS Victory?
When launched, HMS Victory was the mightiest and most technically-advanced vessel of the age, armed with an astonishing 100 to 110 bronze cannon. Historically, she was the last Royal Navy warship to be lost at sea with a complete complement of bronze cannon.
Built in Portsmouth between 1726 and 1737, she was the fifth and penultimate Royal Navy ship to bear this auspicious name. Two of the greatest admirals in English history, Sir John Norris and Sir John Balchin, called her their flagship.
The direct predecessor and inspiration behind Nelson’s flagship, the Victory was a three-decked, first-rate Royal Navy warship weighing 1,921 tons, measuring 174 ft. 9 in. (approx. 53 m) in length, with a beam of 50 ft. 6 in. (approx. 15.5 m) and a depth of 20 ft. 6in. (approx. 6.25 m). Interestingly, Balchin’s Victory was approximately the same overall dimension as Nelson’s Victory, although the newer Victory was a much better design in terms of seaworthiness.
What is the significance of the cannon found at the site?
From the perspective of ordnance deployment, HMS Victory is unique as the last recorded Royal Navy warship to be lost bearing a full complement of bronze cannon. She was armed before bronze was phased out in favor of iron guns, which were less expensive to produce. The site is one of only two first-rates whose ordnance has ever been located underwater, the other having been salvaged in the late 18th century. However, unfortunately almost all of the bronze guns from the other ship were melted down as scrap in the late 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, the Victory site represents the only shipwreck ever discovered with an armament of 42-pounder cannon, the most powerful and prestigious guns used in Colonial naval warfare. The one recovered by Odyssey is the only known example in existence on land in the world.
Are coins or bullion believed to be on the site?
Research shows that substantial quantities of gold were being carried on a regular basis from Lisbon to England on the larger Royal Navy ships during this period. The Dutch financial publication Amsterdamsche Courant of November 18/19, 1744, reported that Balchin’s flagship carried a huge sum of money when she foundered: “People will have it that on board of the Victory was a sum of 400,000 pounds sterling that it had brought from Lisbon for our merchants.” Based on contemporary accounts of coinage being shipped from Lisbon at the time, this cargo most likely consisted of gold coins minted in Portugal and Brazil, although it could also have included other colonial coinage. If gold, this would equate to approximately 100,000 1 oz. gold coins weighing approximately 4 tons.
Additional research indicates that there were large quantities of both silver and gold coins aboard the Victory from enemy prize ships captured by Balchin’s fleet. Research suggests that this prize money will also likely be located at the wreck site.
What is the value of the coins believed to be on board the Victory?
Contemporaneous sources report the presence of £400,000 (1744 face value), which corresponds to approximately 4 tons of gold. The most common coins of the period that would have been transported from Lisbon to England would have been gold Portuguese and Brazilian coins. However, no coins have been located at the site to date, and no accurate assessment as to their value can be made prior to location, recovery and analysis.
Good work Odyssey.