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How to get a piece of the $400 million 'Atocha' shipwreck treasure

On July 20, 1985, U.S. treasure hunter Mel Fisher discovered the sunken treasure of the Spanish galleon, Nuestra Señora de Atocha. The ship was part of a fleet of Spanish ships that sank in 1622 after sailing through a hurricane. Fisher spent nearly 17 years searching for the wreck but it proved to be worth his time. In total, more than 40 tons of silver and gold were recovered by Fisher’s team off the coast of the Marquesas Keys, a small group of islands about 30 miles west of Key West, Florida. The treasure was worth roughly $400 million.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the discovery, Guernsey's auction house in New York will be auctioning off some items from the Fisher collection. In all, about 40 jewels and gold pieces and 100 rare silver coins from the Atocha and her sister ship The Santa Margarita.

“Mel Fisher was-- not even arguably-- he was the most famous treasure hunter in the world,” Guernsey’s president, Arlan Ettinger, tells Yahoo Finance in the attached video. Fisher became a household name in the 1980s, Ettinger says, appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and fighting court battles over ownership of his treasures.

Mel Fisher died in 1998 at age 76 but many of the treasues he recovered remained in his family's possession.  “The Atocha discovery was the greatest discovery. And from that discovery-- from the many thousands of objects retrieved-- some of the most precious ones were kept in his family ending up in the estate of his late wife Delores,” says Ettinger.

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It was Delores, who was called Deo, who wanted a share of the Fisher family items auctioned off after she died.  “When she passed away in her will it was…indicated that some of these items were to be sold for a good cause,” Ettinger says.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to a cause that was special to her, the Michael Abt Jr. Have a Heart Foundation. Mel and Deo Fisher's grandson, Michael Abt Jr., died suddenly of cardiac arrest in 2006 at age 13 during gym class. His school did not have a defibrillator which may have been able to save his life.  The organization raises money to purchase defibrillators for schools and to provide professional training for school staff throughout the United States.

The auction at Guernsey's is expected to raise in the millions.  Items on the block include a long solid gold chain that was Fisher’s favorite. Fisher wore the chain during an appearance on “The Tonight Show.” When Johnny Carson asked him how much the chain was worth, Fisher famously responded, “It may pay a couple of months of your alimony.”

Other items Guernsey’s will feature include a 5-inch solid gold chalice which Ettinger says has “remarkable detail.” He calls it “an important piece of history long thought lost but discovered by this man and his efforts.“ Ettinger says the piece will go for an estimated $400,000 to $500,000.

Other artifacts include a 23-plus carat emerald and a solid gold cross with seven small emeralds embedded in it.

If you're interested in owning a piece of the Fisher sunken treasure, you can attend the Guernsey's auction on August 5 in New York City or bid in absentia via Invaluable.com or LiveAuctioneers.com.

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