Court rules: Black Swan treasure is Spain's "natural, legal patrimony"

U.S. district judge Steven Merryday today ruled for the return of half-a-million coins and hundreds of gold objects to Spain. The artifacts, which had been recovered by the Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. had been "illegally taken." Spain's cultural ministry said.

According to an AFP report, Odyssey (the NASDAQ-traded corporation that specializes in salvaging shipwrecks) "had argued that even though the coins were Spanish, that did not mean they were found on a Spanish ship." Also, "since the vessel's mission at the time was commercial, and that most of the coins were owned by merchants 'and were never owned by Spain.'" Odyssey plans to appeal. Read Odyssey's press release on the ruling which it plans to appeal here.

A year ago, in a workshop at the Joint AIA/APA Annual Meeting moderated by SAFE Board Member Eric Powell, leading authorities from the archaeological and legal worlds discussed the specifics of the Black Swan controversy and its broader implications for both cultural heritage policy and the practice of archaeology.

Today's decision should cause all commercial treasure hunters to admit the fundamental flaw in the Odyssey's business model. Admiralty law matters. And the court has spoken.

Image: Coinlink

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