The Loss and Re-Discovery of the $20 Billion Imperial Spanish Treasure Ship

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

History, Society & Culture

4.2 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 February 2026

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The most valuable shipwreck of all time is the San José galleon—an 18th century Spanish ship that carried 11 million gold coins, silver, and emeralds—and worth $20 billion in today's currency. It sunk in a battle with British ships during the War of Spanish Succession and remained completely lost for centuries.
That is until a clue to its final resting place was found by the most unlikely person: Roger Dooley, a Cuban-American underwater explorer who helped establish Cuba's national diving program and spent years scouring Caribbean waters for sunken shipwrecks at the behest of Fidel Castro. Dooley wasn’t looking for the San José. But an accidental discovery in the dusty stacks of a Spanish archive led him to the story of a lifetime, the tale of a great eighteenth-century treasure ship loaded with riches from the New World and destined for Spain

Though a diver at heart, Dooley was an unlikely candidate to find the San José. He had little in the way of serious credentials, yet his tenacity and single-minded devotion to finding and excavating the ship powered him across four decades, even as he became a man in exile from the country of his birth. As Dooley jousted with famous treasure hunters and well-funded competitors, he slowly homed in on a patch of sea that might contain a three-hundred-year-old shipwreck—or nothing at all.

Today’s guest is Julian Sancton, author of “Neptune’s Fortune: The Billion Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish Empire.” We look at the story of a legendary Spanish galleon that sunk off the coast of, one man’s obsessive quest to find it, and the ongoing fight over excavating this historic shipwreck.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Looking for a simple way to stay rooted in God's Word every day.
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0:28.3	or Google Play Store and download it today. Sky here with another episode of the History and Plug podcast.
0:39.1	The most valuable shipwreck of all time is the San Jose Gallion,
0:42.8	an 18th century Spanish ship that carried 11 million gold coins, silver, and emeralds,
0:47.3	is worth $20 billion in today's currency.
0:50.2	It sunk in a battle with British ships during the War of Spanish Succession,
0:53.3	and remained completely lost for centuries.
0:55.7	That is, until a clue to its final resting place was found but the most unlikely person.
1:00.3	Roger Dooley, a Cuban-American underwater explorer who helped establish Cuba's national dining program
1:05.4	and spent years scouring Caribbean waters for sunken shipwrecks at the behest of Fidel Castro.
1:10.9	Dooley wasn't looking for the San Jose, but accidental discovery in the dusty stacks of a Spanish
1:15.6	archive led him to the story of a lifetime and very specific clues to the coordinates of the San Jose.
1:21.7	Now, Duley was an unlikely person to find him. He had little in the way of serious credentials.
1:25.7	He looked inactive like an older Ermus Hemingway, but a single-bony devotion of finding this ship powered him across four decades, even as he became a man in exile from the country of his birth. He joined famous treasure hunters, got funding from a hedge fund manager, and slowly honed in on a patch of sea that might contain the shipwreck. Today's guest is Julian Sangton, author of Neptune's fortune, the billion-dollar shipwreck, and the ghosts of the Spanish Empire. We look at the story of the ship sinking, one man's obsessive quest to find it, and the ongoing fight over excavating this historic shipwreck. Hope you enjoyed this discussion with Julian Sancton. And one more thing before we get started with this episode, a quick break for a word from our
2:03.6	sponsors.
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