Viking Treasure Found

The Local, a Swedish publication, is reporting today that a treasure trove consisting of 450 ancient silver coins likely buried in the Viking Era (i.e. 850 A.D.). The coins, from Bagdad and Damascus were discovered by archaeologists working near Sweden's Arlanda Airport. Arrrgh!

Sunken Treasure

Pirates don't generally buy stock, but one company raising Pirate eyebrows is Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX) which is literally in a battle royal with the King of Spain over a sunken treasure of over 500,000 silver coins weighing over 17 tons. The wreck, codenamed Black Swan, is located in international waters off the coast of Gibraltar. At 32,000 ounces per ton and Silver trading at $20.80 an ounce, that would put the value of this find at over $11 Million for simple silver value, but assuming the condition of the 500,000 coins to be relatively good, their value could approach $500 Million. The stock closed today at $5.47 a share, with 47.34 million shares outstanding. If the company defeats the claims of Spain (which looks probable to this Pirate), then the stock would be set to double. Arrrrgh, Treasure!