David Saul believes it may be the richest shipwreck ever found.

Bermuda?s former Premier is one of the directors of a company that located the which sank over a century ago in the Western Atlantic.

And the is yielding a rich treasure trove of gold coins.

Dr. Saul said the coins are in mint condition due to the lack of oxygen in the water.

?They are collectors? items and coin collectors have estimated that they are worth between $6,000 to $1,600,000 each,? Dr. Saul said.

The ship was found 100 miles southeast of Savannah, Georgia, by Odyssey Marine Exploration. The company spent around $10 million and searched 400 square miles of the Atlantic.

After six years of searching, the was finally found last August in 1,700 feet of water.

Dr. Saul said the most modern technology was used in the exhaustive search.

He estimated that Odyssey has collected about 20 to 25 percent of the 55,000 gold coins on the ocean floor.

?The items are being vacuumed up one item at a time, cleaned, graded and each artefact is marked and labelled.?

The expedition was filmed by National Geographic and will be shown on television and featured in the magazine.

Odyssey also plans to set up a museum in the US and Europe featuring the treasures.

Besides the rare coins, Dr. Saul said stewed apples, peaches and plums have been found.

The sank during a hurricane in October, 1865, with members of the crew surviving.

Odyssey?s next expedition involves the which sank in 1694 nine miles off Gibraltar.