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MADRID —Spain said Monday that it will send military transport planes to Florida to retrieve 17 tons of treasure that U.S. undersea explorers found — possibly the richest shipwreck treasure in history. The Civil Guard said agents would leave within hours to fetch the booty, worth an estimated $504 million.
Last week, a federal judge ordered Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration to give Spanish officials access to the silver coins and other artifacts beginning today. Odyssey in 2007 found them in the galleon Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, sunk by British warships off Portugal in 1804.
Spain argued successfully in court that it never relinquished ownership of the ship or its cargo.
