Bring Back "Finders Keepers"

Oh, no; a dispute over a sizeable sunken treasure find could derail the EU and cause Spain to send a vast armada–both of its remaining warships–up the Thames in an all-out war to break the backs of the English sea dogs: Deep sea treasure trove launches trans-Atlantic dispute:

Odyssey has insisted it found the wreck in international waters in the Atlantic but has kept the exact site secret, but Madrid suspects the ship was discovered in Spanish territorial waters and a Spanish newspaper reported the vessel itself belonged to Spain.

“What we’re seeing here is a presumed incidence of plundering,” First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said Friday.

Spain opened a probe into the exact location of the wreck last week after the culture ministry became suspicious of the circumstances in which the cargo, worth an estimated 400 million dollars, was found.

Yeah, Spain, who probably minted the coins from stolen Incan or Aztec gold, is on record accusing the American treasure hunting company of plundering. But that’s apparently how it goes in 2007; any possession that was previously owned by someone from another country belongs to the previous owner as long as it’s old.

Bonus additional snark: Iranian officials also claim that the Odyssey was in Iranian national waters and regrets missing the opportunity to seize it.

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5 thoughts on “Bring Back "Finders Keepers"

  1. It is a shame that Spain is trying to claim a treasure that in reality it did not belong to them. If they really want to go for it, they should trace back to where the gold and the silver came from… THINK MEXICO, THINK PERU!!! It is a shame that Spain is bringing their shameful past as a country that took advantage of the people that lived in the “discovered” American Continent, and robbed as much gold and silver as they could, making their rightful owners, Indian tribes such as the Aztecs, work as slaves to get that gold and silver from the mines. THINK SPAIN!!! THINK!!! Or even better, read your own history.

  2. This Is Good Stuff And I Agree Bring Back Finders Keepers So What I Find A Spanish Old Coin On The Ground I’m Gonna Get Sued Its Stupid

  3. That’s great, Spain takes no risk, never searches for “their” ship wrecks but if someone finds a ship that used to belong to Spain they claim it is their property. The worst part is the justice system agrees with them. You should not be able to claim something you stole! The recovery team should be able to claim “insurance” recovery fees on anything they bring up (usually 50%),time, labor, expertise and an extremely fair salary for every member of the crew. Then a penalty on Spain for every year they did not try to find the ship. They gave up ownership when they made no attempt to locate “their” property.

  4. So, what happens if the galleon was part of the Treasure Fleet captured by Piet Heyn? If I recall correctly, the ships, filled with gold and silver, were taken back to Protestant Holland in its rebellion against Catholic Spain. So it may be a Spanish-built vessel, but was it flying the flag of Spain when it sank? And how could it be proven conclusively?

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