David Horan - The Treasure Sultan

What To do If You Find A Sunken Or Duried Treasure

EDITOR'S NOTE: David Horan's clients know him as the Treasure Sultan. Horan of Key West, Florida, is one of the leading attorneys in the nation on admiralty law as it pertains to ownership of sunken treasure, sunken ships and underwater artifacts. His clients have salvaged some of the greatest underwater treasures and historical finds in the world, including the "Atocha," the "Santa Margarita," the "Andreadoria," the "Titanic," the "San Miguel De Archangel" and "El Cazador." Horan also has had the opportunity to scuba dive on many of these wrecks. This week, Horan will share with us his adventures, photos and tales of great treasure finds made by ordinary people like you and me.

The first thing to do if you find possible sunken or buried treasure is to immediately go to the phone, call (305) 294-4585 and ask for Dave Horan, that's me. If you do find a treasure on land, I'll help you work out a deal with the land owner and the state. If you locate a treasure in the water, I'll help you file a claim in the federal district court under the admiralty law. If you don't establish your claim to a treasure, then either the state or a modern-day pirate may take the treasure you found. Often the state is the modern-day pirate.

Remember that the litigation on the treasure ship "Atocha" took seven years to the month to establish Mel Fischer's claim. I filed the case to stabilize the case in 1975, but the Supreme Court of the United States finally ruled on the case on July 2, 1982. During that time, two other salvage groups tried to come on to the wreck site and make their own claims. The federal district court judge called one of those groups "modern-day pirates."

I didn't deliberately intend for my practice of law to focus on salvage and the recovery of sunken treasure and historical
wrecks. I just got lucky. I have to admit, I do really enjoy diving for treasure and litigating for the people who find treasure. No one would have ever believed that we could maintain jurisdiction on the "Titantic," which was right out in the middle of the Atlantic. I also have discovered that in nearly all of the cases that I've represented, the people who find treasure are not wealthy. So in many cases, I've taken my fee in a portion of the treasure. Most people who find big treasures have used up all their resources and have a lot of dept to pay off after they locate the treasure. My percentages have ranged from 1/2-percent to 7-1/2 percent of the treasure, depending on what type of treasure they find. I've received payment in silver spoons from a wreck and in rail cannons, cannon balls and all other types of artifacts.

Mel Fischer allowed me to select the coins I wanted as my fee for representing him. If you find a treasure and you want to contact me, you can email me at bhw608@hotmail.com, call me at (352) 294-4585 or write to me at 608 Whitehead Street,
Key West, Fl 33040.