Treasure on newly discovered shipwreck HMS Victory could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars — but for former Premier David Saul the historical value of the find is even more exciting.

The legendary British man-of-war, which sank in the English Channel 264 years ago, was found under 330 feet of water by Odyssey Marine Exploration, of which Dr. Saul is a director.

On board was four tons of gold coins worth a staggering amount of money, along with brass cannons and other items about which Odyssey is in talks with the British Government.

Its discovery, reported in the international press this week, also means experts will now have to rewrite the history books — and the people previously blamed for its sinking can finally be exonerated. The Victory, a 175-foot sailing ship, was separated from its fleet and sank on October 4, 1744, with at least 900 men aboard.

Until now, historical records had suggested it crashed on the rocks off the Channel Island of Alderney near Cherbourg, France, marring an otherwise exemplary service record of the ship's commander, Sir John Balchin, while a lighthouse keeper on Alderney was prosecuted for failing to keep the light on. It may be no consolation to Sir John or the lighthouse keeper at this point in time, but Dr. Saul and Odyssey say the location of its wreck 50 miles away from Alderney shows the most likely cause of the crash was a violent storm nobody could do anything about.

"The vicarious thrill that I get when I find out what discoveries like this mean is well out of proportion. I'm a shareholder, but you can disregard what happens with the stocks," Dr. Saul told The Royal Gazette last night.

"For the last eight years, I have had more fun and enjoyment out of board meetings discussing explorations than you could imagine."

Greg Stemm, co-founder of Odyssey, told Associated Press: "This is a big one, just because of the history. Very rarely do you solve an age-old mystery like this."

Odyssey was searching for other valuable shipwrecks in the English Channel when it came across the Victory. A Ministry of Defense spokesman said the British Government was aware of Odyssey's claim to have found the Victory.

He said: "Assuming the wreck is indeed that of a British warship, her remains are sovereign immune.This means that no intrusive action may be taken without the express consent of the United Kingdom."

The HMS Victory was returning from Lisbon, Portugal, and was probably transporting 100,000 gold Portuguese coins for merchants, according to Odyssey's research. The ship had sailed there to help rescue a Mediterranean convoy blockaded by the French in the River Tagus at Lisbon.

The wreck site is roughly 70 feet by 200 feet and littered with other debris.

Research ship Odyssey Explorer is equipped with a remote underwater robot capable of carefully removing the smallest of items from the bottom and shooting high-resolution photos and video.

The company's work on the Victory is the subject of 'Treasure Quest' on the Discovery Channel tomorrow at 11 p.m., and Saturday at 3 p.m.