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New research revealing details of gold coins found aboard a shipwreck off Colombia provides further evidence that the vessel was the San José galleon, a 300-year-old Spanish warship believed to contain artifacts worth billions of dollars.
Scientists used an unmanned underwater vehicle to survey the wreck and captured images of some of its cargo, according to a study published in the journal Antiquity on Tuesday.
They then used photogrammetry to make three-dimensional reconstructions of the coins, revealing a Jerusalem cross and heraldic symbols of the crowns of the Spanish monarchs of Castile and León.
They also uncovered symbols showing that the coins were minted in Lima, Peru, in 1707, proving the shipwreck occurred after that date.
