I already touched real gold there in 20 century too !!!! :)
I've been obsessed with Mel Fisher and the Atocha since I was 9-10 years old and rented the Nat-Geo VCR tape from Carnegie Public Library in Freeport, IL. I couldn't miss this museum on my first trip to the Keys as a 32 year old! I was slightly disappointed, but I guess I may have had high expectations. $24 each was a little steep. The exhibits are kinda old and are very hard to photograph due to lighting, the red walls or the artifacts being in plexiglass cases. In fact, none of my photos (Cannon TI3) turned out on multiple settings. The surveillance (?) guy was almost helpful, but was very softly spoken and didn't seem to want to be there. The other 2 exhibits upstairs were disjointed and didn't flow well at all. It's really amazing how well some of the items have been restored. You get to see some cool jewelery and some surprisingly preserved weapons and other artifacts. It was also AWESOME to remember the artifacts I saw on that VCR tape and see them in person, inches from my nose. Pretty cool. On the down-side, having watched the history of this salvage, I know how little was actually displayed at this museum. Where the heck did it all go? I really thought there would be a lot more there. I know that they're salvers and not archeologists, but I expected to see piles of silver bars and gold coins and chains and massive amounts of varying booty. They had replica piles of the silver bars and a small amount of gold bars on display... bleh. The slave-ship display upstairs was cool and unexpected, though. In summary, the average museum goer should instead buy a few DVD's on colonization and the Spanish Main rather than pay $24 a pop to get into this place... unless you're like me... and just can't pass it up!
Great learning experience
If you are into history you will love the displays just take time to read and get an understanding for what you are looking at. Very nice people here also, we were met with a smile. the attitude of people who work at places like this mean so much.
We haven't been in 6 or so years, but I loved the place. Being able to hold real ingots from the Atocha was awesome. I don't remember the price when we were there, but I do remeber the lack of service; it was all self guided.
Mel Fisher S Treasures is a US Jewelry Store based in Key West, Florida. Mel Fisher S Treasures is located at 200 Greene St, Key West, FL 33040, USA.
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