http://www.tampabay.com/news/m...16934
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">TAMPA — Two planes left MacDill Air Force Base Friday afternoon packed with 19th century Spanish treasure that was recovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration.
A federal court recently ordered Odyssey to return the 594,000 silver coins that were brought to the surface off the Portuguese coast and flown back to Tampa in 2007. The company lost every round in federal courts as it tried to hold on to the treasure worth some $500 million, the richest shipwreck in history.
Spanish officials claimed rights to that treasure because the vessel, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, belonged to their country.
Jorge Dezcallar de Mazarredo, the Spanish ambassador to the United States, said the coins are not considered currency. As historical artifacts, they will be displayed in museums in Spain and around the world.
The C-130 transport planes are bound for Madrid and will be unloaded at a military base.
As three armed airmen stood guard Friday morning, more than two dozen journalists got a look at the coins inside the aircraft. By then, the treasure — dubbed the Black Swan — had been packed on pallets and encased in plastic.
"It's a very emotional and moving moment for me and for all my colleagues behind me," Dezcallar de Mazarredo said while standing near the planes with Spanish military personnel and treasure experts nearby. "This is history."</td></tr></table>
If the Spainiards wanted the treasure, they should have put out the time and money to salvage it instead of hijacking it.
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