Mel Fisher…

I have known of the exploits of this certain Treasure Hunter looking for Spanish gold from the seventy’s onward, although Mel Fisher is more of a well known Treasure Hunter, in his homeland, and as such i never knew much more about the man util i just got handed a little bit of a nugget containing some more information, from a magnet fisher is the states, about the sad state of affairs surrounding his treasure hunting exploits, ah the internet what a wonderful thing, a quick search quenched my thirst for more knowledge of this legend…

It all started from a comment, about an article i wrote.

This will get the juices flowing of those archaeologists who moan about the metal detectorists, and the sale of items, included …

In response to the article i wrote recently deriding the archies moaning about artefacts being sold, and why were they not recorded,

oh wait… they were recorded and dismissed, so it was legal for them to go for sale, & for them to appear at auction…

the reply was from “MagnetFishingInTheUSA” commenting on Another One.

In response to Magnet Fishers “response about the article, thank you for the info it is something i missed, & thank you for the up date about Mel Fisher, and the Spanish shipwreck Nuestra Señora deAtocha in  Florida  waters.

Mel Fisher was born in Indiana and became a diving pioneer with his shop in California, born on August 21, 1922 & died of bladder cancer on December 19, 1998…

below is “MagnetFishingInTheUSA reply” and his reply has made me realise that Mel Fishers story is well worth the read…

I quote MagnetFishingInTheUSA…

I have a good one for you. Mel Fisher, the guy that found the Atocha wreck, was taken to court in Florida and was made to open a museum to display a percentage of the find to the public. The state of Florida mandated that it be run by “Professional Archies”.
Mel Fisher has since passed away, but the museum is still operated today. I contacted the museum to ask a question about treasure hunting. Before I give you the response, I want everyone to know that Mel Fisher’s find pays for everything still to this day including the paychecks of the museum curators.
They stated-

“We do not support treasure hunting. Good luck with your project.

Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

200 Greene Street

Key West, FL 33040

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums…

This goes above and beyond spitting on someones life’s work and enters into a lack of morals. Anyway, I thought you and your readers should know the types of Archaeologists that are out for nothing more than a paycheck and could care less about what you find unless it puts money in their pockets and gives them full credit for everything that is found.

thanks for your input magnet-fisher usa… “a great story & with a perfect follow up”