Spanish court throws out lawsuit against US treasure hunters

Recreation of the cargo of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish Navy frigate that sank during an 1804 battle off the coast of Portugal. Odyssey Marine Exploration discovered the shipwreck in 2007, which contained an estimated $500 million in silver and gold coins. Image courtesy of jacinta lluch valero via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Recreation of the cargo of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish Navy frigate that sank during an 1804 battle off the coast of Portugal. Odyssey Marine Exploration discovered the shipwreck in 2007, which contained an estimated $500 million in silver and gold coins. Image courtesy of jacinta lluch valero via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Recreation of the cargo of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish Navy frigate that sank during an 1804 battle off the coast of Portugal. In 2007, Odyssey Marine Exploration discovered the shipwreck, which contained an estimated $500 million in silver and gold coins. Image courtesy of jacinta lluch valero via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

MADRID (AP) – A Spanish court has shelved a lawsuit against American treasure hunters that accused them of having destroyed an underwater archaeological site when they looted a sunken galleon for tons of precious coins more than a decade ago.

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