
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 21, 1994                   TAG: 9411230049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS                                 LENGTH: Short

DEEP-SEA TREASURES GO ON DISPLAY TODAY

Three tons of coins and an 18th century gold spoon designed to clear wax from ears are among the salvaged deep-sea treasures that go on display today along a Mississippi River wharf.

The treasures are just part of the early haul from El Cazador, a brig-of-war that sank in a storm in the Gulf of Mexico 210 years ago, laden with nearly 19 tons of newly minted Spanish silver.

Salvage workers made dozens of 300-foot dives as the gulf's hurricane season ended and its nasty winter approached, videotaping the wreckage and dredging up as much as possible to thwart modern-day pirates.

The wreckage found more than a year ago still holds tons upon tons of stacked coins sent from Vera Cruz in January 1784 to pay New Orleans' Spanish government.

Associated Press

by CNB