Sea hunt strikes gold

(FSB magazine) -- Recovering $150 million in sunken treasure might seem like a career-capping event. But Greg Stemm, founder of Odyssey Marine Exploration (cover story, March 2005), wanted to show the world (and shareholders) that he isn't a one-hit wonder.

On May 18 Stemm announced a bigger find. Odyssey's dive vehicle fetched 17 tons of Colonial-era silver and gold coins from a wreck in the eastern Atlantic that, for security purposes, he identifies only by the code name "Black Swan" (blackswanshipwreck.com). One expert estimates the 500,000 coins to be worth $500 million.

A possible catch: If it turns out that the coins are Spanish, the government of Spain may try to claim a share of the booty.