At a time when famed German composer Johann Sebastian Bach was still alive and George I was still king of Great Britain, 10 ships laden with gold sunk off the coast of Florida.

Earlier this week some of their valuable booty was uncovered.

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July 24 this year marked 300 years since the 1715 Fleet left Havana, Cuba bound for Europe.

But seven days later, the fleet was caught up in a hurricane off the coast of Florida, scuttling 10 of the fleet’s eleven ships and killing more than 1000 people.

Although salvage efforts began immediately, not all of the treasure on board was uncovered.

On Monday, salvage company Queen Jewels revealed the “truly remarkable” discovery of an estimated $1 million gold at the wreck of the fleet.

It included a coin called a ‘Royal’ – so rare it is the only one of its kind in existence.

The coin was designed for Phillip V, then King of Spain.

The treasure was uncovered by the Schmidt family, who were subcontracted to Queens Jewels.

A video of the discovery shows Eric Schmidt wildly celebrating the find.

The gold pieces were found in about 15 feet of water, with more than 50 gold coins and 40 feet of gold chain recovered, according to Queens Jewels.

Although most commonly portrayed as a thing of fantasy, it’s not only pirates who look for sunken treasure.

Among some of the most significant finds over the years is the Black Swan Project where $500 million worth of coins were found by Florida-based exploration company Odyssey Marine Exploration.