Top 15 Most Valuable and Fascinating Underwater Discoveries
3. HMS Lutine
Estimated Present Value: $43.61 million* Year of Disappearance: 1779 Year of Discovery: 1858 The construction of the HMS Lutine cost tens of millions of dollars in modern currency. The frigate was launched by the French in 1779, but it saw service in both the Royal and French fleets. In the 1700s, the ship came under British authority and was placed into "HMS" service. Six years after joining England, in 1799, a violent storm in the West Frisian Islands caused the Lutine to capsize. Because of shifting sandbanks, most of Lutine's cargo hasn't been collected; therefore, most of her gold is still resting there. The renowned financial institution Lloyd's of London retrieved a bell from the wreck in 1858, and it is now kept there ceremoniously. Lloyd's sounds the Lutine bell in response to significant events, such as the death of a royal or the remembrance of a calamity.
