It’s been a few years since I read that book , but from my corroded memory banks I think that prior to the Central America gold recovery there were only 3 of the 50 dollar gold coins in existence. They found about 170 of them on the ship , which must have pleased them as much as it would have pissed off the owners of the three coins !!
I also remember the insurance company who paid out on the 1840’s wreck trying to claim all the gold as theirs, after it was recovered from about 6000 ft depth . Think they got 3 million the greedy blood suckers .
The salvage hunters auctioned all the bullion on eBay, over many years , as certified Central America bullion and got much more than its gold value. They wisely have never revealed how much they got , nor if they have finished with the site or the auctions. As I say , a really good read for anyone with the gold bug. Which Island do you reside Lamerlaw? If it the North would love to catch up for a chin wag !