KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) – Shipwreck salvors Friday evaluated a centuries-old 40-inch gold chain recovered from the sea floor during the search for a 17th-century sunken Spanish galleon off the Florida Keys.

The chain, bearing an enameled gold cross and two-sided engraved religious medallion, is believed to be from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank approximately 35 miles west of Key West during a 1622 hurricane. It was discovered by Bill Burt, a diver for Mel Fisher’s Treasures seeking the Atocha’s sterncastle.

“It has a cross on it with black enamel and a gold medallion, and lots of lettering on the medallion and the cross,” said Andy Matroci, captain of the search vessel J.B. Magruder. “When you enter the water, you never know what you’re going to find.”

Tentatively valued at about $250,000, the chain contains 55 links resembling cotterpins. Its cross measures 2 inches by 1.25 inches, and its oval medallion features an engraved Virgin Mary and chalice. The chain also contains a black bead and two halves of a gold floweret.

Treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his crew recovered more than $450 million in gold, silver and artifacts from the Atocha shipwreck in 1985, but the sterncastle remains undiscovered.

Sean Fisher, grandson of the late Mel Fisher, said the chain’s discovery is an important pointer in their search.

“We’re in a really hot area right now, and this type of artifact is the right sort of material for the sterncastle,” he said.

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Online: Mel Fisher Treasures, http://www.melfisher.com

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