Divers recover $5m of sunken treasure off Florida coast

Divers off Florida’s coast have found gold for the second time this summer.

On Thursday, four crew members from the ship SV Capitana will reveal how they discovered $4.5m of Spanish gold coins three weeks ago.

The coins come from the wreckage of a fleet of 11 colonial Spanish ships that sunk 300 years ago off Florida's east coast, the Associated Press reported.

The loss of the ships and as many as 1,000 lives was considered one of colonial Spain's biggest maritime disasters off Florida.

The latest find comes a month after a Florida family, the Schmitts of Sanford, announced that they had found $1m of sunken treasure.

In the latest discovery, the Brent Brisben and his crew found nine coins called Royals that are each worth $300,000. They were specially made for the king of Spain, Phillip V in the early 1700s.

"People love treasure stories. It resonates with everybody — every demographic, young and old, rich and poor," Mr Brisben told reporters.

"People freak out that we're literally 10-15 feet off the beach in 2-3 feet of water."

The treasure finds have significant meaning because July 30, 2015, marked the 300th anniversary of the 1715 Fleet shipwreck.

On July 24, 1715, eleven ships traveled from Havana to Spain to deliver at least $400m worth of jewellery and gold. All was lost at sea, however, when a hurricane hit July 31, 1715. Up to 1,000 people died.