Brent W. Brisben (born March 20, 1968) is an American treasure hunter best known for salvaging the shipwrecks of the historic

1715 Treasure Fleet The 1715 Treasure Fleet was actually a combination of two Spanish treasure fleets returning from the New World to Spain, the "Nueva España Fleet", under Capt.-General Don Juan Esteban de Ubilla, and the "Tierra Firme Fleet", under Don Antonio de ...

, a

Spanish treasure fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet ( es, Flota de Indias, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the es, label=Spanish, plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to ...

returning from the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. During the early morning hours of July 31, 1715, seven days after departing from

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, eleven of the twelve ships of this fleet were lost in a hurricane near present-day

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

. Because the fleet was carrying silver, it is also known as the 1715 Plate Fleet (plata being the Spanish word for silver plate). Some artifacts and even coins still wash up on Florida beaches from time to time.

Personal life

Brent Brisben was born and raised in

Montgomery, Ohio Montgomery is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, settled in 1795. The town was a coach stop on the Cincinnati-Zanesville Road, later known as the Montgomery Pike, with an inn, two taverns, a grist mill and a carding mill to proces ...

, a suburb of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He graduated from

Archbishop Moeller High School Moeller High School ( ), known as Moeller, is a private, all-male, college-preparatory high school in the suburbs of Cincinnati, in Hamilton County, Ohio. It is currently one of four all-male Catholic high schools in the Cincinnati area. Hist ...

in 1986 and was a member of Moeller's 1985 state championship football team. After

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, Brisben attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

where he studied communications. Brisben worked as a sports producer at

WCPO-TV WCPO-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer ...

in Cincinnati and later worked for his father's real estate development company.

Biography

Brisben and his father William O. Brisben founded 1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels, LLC in 2010. The Brisbens purchased the exclusive salvage rights to the 1715 Treasure Fleet from the heirs of world-famous treasure hunter

Mel Fisher Mel Fisher (August 21, 1922 – December 19, 1998) was an American treasure hunter best known for finding the 1622 wreck of the ''Nuestra Señora de Atocha'' in Florida waters. Personal life Fisher was an Indiana-born former chicken farmer who ...

. Just 17 days after the purchase, a subcontractor to 1715 - QJ recovered the only bronze swivel gun ever found on the 1715 Fleet. Hidden inside the bronze cannon were 51 gold escudos and 40 silver reales. Within a month of the cannon find, a mother/daughter team of subcontractors of Brisben's company recovered the "Pelican in Piety". The find was valued at $885,000. In July 2013, Brisben and his crew aboard the M/V Capitana made headlines with the recovery of 51 gold escudos valued at $300,000. Days later on Sept 1, 2013 a family of subcontractors recovered 50 feet of gold chain and 5 gold escudos valued at over $350,000. On July 28, 2015, Brisben announced that the same family of subcontractors had found over 50 gold coins worth approximately 1 Million Dollars. The centerpiece of the find was an extremely rare coin called a Royal dated 1715. The Royal coin was a perfect specimen of Spanish coinage made specifically for King Phillip V. 1715 Royal

On July 30 and 31 of 2015, Brisben and his crew aboard the M/V Capitana made one of the most significant finds in 1715 Fleet History. On the actual 300th Anniversary of the sinking of the 1715 Fleet, they recovered 300 gold coins including 7 Royals. Over the next week of salvage they added 50 more coins including 2 Royals. The story of the recovery of 350 Spanish Escudos and 9 Royals worth 4.5 Million Dollars made headlines worldwide. CBS THIS MORNING broke the story live on August 19, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brisben, Brent Treasure hunters Living people 1968 births People from Montgomery, Ohio University of Cincinnati alumni