Mel Fisher's legendary undersea treasures auctioned

On the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha treasure, hunter Mel Fisher is auctioning select parts of the legendary sunken treasure through Guernsey's in New York City at Arader Galleries on August 5, 2015.

On July 20, 1985, former chicken farmer turned treasure hunter, Mel Fisher, discovered the sunken treasure of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the most famous member of a fleet of Spanish ships that sank in 1622 after sailing into a violent hurricane.

This gold bar is one of the items up for auction.

Spanish galleon treasure

Emerald Cross

Fisher is considered by many to be the most successful treasure hunter of all time, having discovered several noteworthy undersea wrecks in the waters off Florida. This emerald cross, one of the items being auctioned, is part of the $450 million cache, the "Atocha Motherload," that took Fisher and his team 16 years to find.

Spanish galleon treasure

Gold disc

Fisher's $450 million treasure included more than 40 tons of silver and gold, found off the Maruesas Keys, an uninhabited island group around 20 miles west of Key West, Florida.

Landmark decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed Fisher's ownership of recovered treasure claimed under traditional admiralty law. In 1987 the U.S. Congress passed the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, putting an end to admiralty law. These days, states retain title to wrecks within three miles of their coastline.

Spanish galleon treasure

Gold chalice

The silver and gold found included more than 100,000 Spanish silver coins known as "pieces of eight," gold coins, the finest Colombian emeralds, silver and gold artifacts, and over 1,000 silver bars.

Nuestra Señora de Atocha

Deo's gold chain

Forty items from the treasure and others are part of the Guernsey's auction.

Spanish galleon treasure

Two pearls

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Michael Abt, Jr. Have a Heart Foundation, which works to provide Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) to schools nationwide.