The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum: A Treasure in Key West, Florida

A few years ago - actually, a few hundred years ago - there were several shipwrecks off of the coast of Florida that were caused by some rather ferocious hurricanes. Obviously, there was no National Hurricane Center in the 1600 and 1700's, so the ships had no way of knowing that they were heading into the throes of a powerful storm. The Spanish ships - known as galleons - left treasures worth millions of dollars behind on the ocean's floor after they sank.

Fast forward a few hundred years. A treasure hunter named Mel Fisher decided to make it his life's work to find these sunken ships, so with the help of investors and his own tireless efforts, Fisher set about searching for the wreckage of the ships. In 1985, Fisher discovered the wreckage of the Atocha which contained gold, silver, coins, and jewelry that was estimated to be worth $400 million.

When you visit Key West, Florida, there are countless attractions to choose from, so you must choose wisely. The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum is one attraction that you must visit while in Key West. The museum is located on Greene and Whitehead Streets in downtown Key West, and not only displays the treasures found on the Atocha, but also exhibits the treasure that Fisher and his crew brought up from the wrecks of the Santa Margarita and the English slave ship the Henrietta Marie.

The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum is an absolutely fascinating place. The museum features the jewelry from the sunken ships and includes huge crucifixes as well as other beautiful pieces encrusted with priceless jewels. The museum also displays enormous gold bars that you can actually touch and chests overflowing with gold and silver coins. The museum makes visitors feel as if they have just stepped back in time a few hundred years into a world filled with pirates and plunder. The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum also delves into the history of the ships---where they came from and how they came to be at the bottom of the ocean. Visitors can also shop at the museum's gift store.