Florida v. Treasure Salvors, Inc.
From Conservapedia
In Florida Department of State v. Treasure Salvors, Inc., 458 U.S. 670 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court held that both the State of Florida and the federal government of the United States were denied exclusive rights to everything found at sea by treasure hunters, in this case the $400,000,000 dollars worth of gold, silver, and jewels recovered by Mel Fisher and his partners in the early 1980's near Key West. Citing Admiralty, salvage, and the 1933 Treasure Trove laws, the Supreme Court basically said "finders, keepers" in awarding Fisher title to the treasure found. The ships involved were tha Spanish galleons Santa Margarita and Nuestra Seniora de Atocha, both of which sank in the early 1600's.
