Santa Margarita

The final voyage

Santa Margarita cleared Havana on 4 September 1622 as part of the same 28-ship Tierra Firme fleet as Nuestra Señora de Atocha, carrying substantial registered treasure. Findings of fact from the U.S. District Court's 1983 admiralty opinion in Treasure Salvors v. Unidentified... Sailing Vessel record her as a 630-ton galleon carrying 188 persons, of whom 143 were lost. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Margarita_(shipwreck))[2](https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/treasure-salvors-v-unidentif-891541797) Her registered cargo, per the same historical record, included 166,574 silver pieces of eight, more than 550 silver ingots (roughly 10,000 pounds), and over 9,000 ounces of gold in bars, discs, and bits, in addition to unregistered contraband.

Caught by the same hurricane that destroyed Atocha, Santa Margarita wrecked near the Marquesas Keys. Spanish salvor Gaspar de Vargas mounted an early recovery attempt, and in 1624 Francisco Melián used a diving bell to recover a further portion of her treasure; storms and Dutch naval activity eventually ended Spanish salvage, leaving much of her cargo on the seabed for over three centuries. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Margarita_(shipwreck))

What was aboard

Cargo figures here come from the detailed findings of fact in the 1983 federal admiralty opinion Treasure Salvors, Inc. v. The Unidentified, Wrecked and Abandoned Sailing Vessel, which drew on Spanish colonial records reconstructed by historian Eugene Lyon.

Silver coin: 166,574 pieces of eight, per the court's findings.

Silver ingots: More than 550 ingots, roughly 10,000 pounds.

Gold: Over 9,000 ounces in bars, discs, and bits.

Personal and trade goods: Copper, silverware, indigo, navigational instruments, and jewelry belonging to officers, passengers, and crew.

How to collect

Cite the case record: The 1983 federal opinion is a public, citable primary source for cargo and loss figures — use it rather than round or inflated claims.

Match recovery era to documentation: 1980s-era recoveries should have contemporaneous Treasure Salvors documentation distinct from later Atocha-site finds.

Separate the two wrecks: Santa Margarita and Atocha sank in the same storm but are separate, separately excavated sites; material should be attributed to the correct one.

Check condition claims: Silver recovered from this site is often heavily sea-affected; conservation and grading should be documented, not just asserted.