A diver just found gold at a shipwreck off the Florida Keys. His parents paved the way

Zach Moore knows what it’s like to discover undersea treasure.

But he recently landed a prized piece while searching the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which went down in a hurricane 35 miles off Key West in 1622.

Moore — a diver and engineer at Mel Fisher’s Treasures in Key West and son of two of the original treasure hunters more than three decades ago — found a rare Atocha gold coin in 30 feet of water on July 16 while working on the J.B. Magruder salvage boat.

“There’s nothing like finding treasure first of all, but there’s nothing like finding gold,” said Moore, 28. “Gold shines forever. It looks and feels exactly the same as the day it went down 400 years ago.”

The coin is worth at least $98,000, the company said.

“It’s quite an incredible find,” said Kim Fisher, 65, president and CEO of Mel Fisher’s Treasures, of the Atocha gold coin Moore found. “It’s the first gold coin in 20 years.”

“We’ve only found 120 gold coins,” said Fisher, who was 12 when his father started searching for the Atocha treasure. “We have found some gold on jewelry and gold bars.”

Moore’s coin raises the gold coin tally to 121. The newest coin will be on display at Mel Fisher’s Treasures store, 613 Duval St., until at least May 2022, Fisher said.

Moore found the Atocha gold coin at a time when the treasure-hunting outfit was already planning to celebrate the 36th anniversary of the spectacular discovery off Key West.

Mel Fisher and his crew struck gold — and silver, emeralds and more — on July 20, 1985, after 16 years of searching for the fortune held by the Spanish galleon. Known as “the golden crew,” Fisher’s divers found $400 million worth of sunken treasure held by the Atocha.

Fisher’s motto was, “Today’s the day!”

For Mel Fisher’s Treasures, searching the wreck site is full-time work, especially in the summer months.

“Whenever it’s calm enough,” Fisher said. “I’ve got two 90-foot boats. This is the best time. There’s calm water almost all summer.”

The diving crews will often go out for a week to 10 days at a time.

“We just come in and get fuel and groceries and head back out,” Fisher said.

On July 16, Moore was underwater searching with a metal detector when he heard a ping. He had hit on something special.

“Out flips a silver coin and I’m just ecstatic about it,” he said.

Moore continued. But he kept moving. About three feet away from where he recovered the silver coin, he spotted gold.

It was wedged into a hole in the bedrock that was just big enough to hold it, he said.

When Moore got closer, he realized it was also a coin. It has a cross on one side.

“There’s this beautiful golden coin with a cross on it staring right back at me,” Moore said. “Picture like an angelic choir with sunbeams shining down kind of a feeling. It was a little glint and a splash of this yellow gold.”

Moore called over some of the other divers to share in the excitement. They had a five-minute underwater celebration with hugs and high-fives.

Then it was back to hunting for more.

“OK, I’ve got to get back to work,” Moore said was his next thought. “I’ve got a lot of area to cover with the metal detector. I just went right back to work.”

Moore, who is originally from Vero Beach, is a second-generation treasure diver. His parents, Bill and Julie, were both part of that “golden crew” that found the Atocha treasure 36 years ago. That’s how they met.

“Scuba diving for gold,” Moore said. “It runs in the blood. I’ve just got to get back out there so I can find more.”

Bill Moore, who worked for Mel Fisher for five years, said it’s hard to explain what it was like to help find the Atocha treasure.

“We brought up 165 pounds of gold,” he said. “To know you’re a part of that, 30 some years later.”

His son Zach called him as soon as he could after finding his first gold. He was on the way in aboard the Magruder.

Asked what he told his son, Bill Moore laughed and said, “Don’t beat my record.”