Among the earliest items that the scientists of Colombia discovered among the deep waters of the Caribbean Sea, where the mythical Spanish galleon San Jose sank in 1708, was a cannon, three coins, and a porcelain cup, which the authorities announced on 20th November.

The recovery would be related to a scientific study that the government commissioned last year in order to examine the wreckage and the reasons for the sinking. The galleon was discovered in 2015, prompting legal and political controversies among Colombian researchers. It is a state secret where it is located.

The ship is estimated to have 11 million gold and silver coins, and other valuable objects, including emeralds and other precious items of Spanish-controlled colonies, that may be worth billions of dollars had they ever been found.

The government of President Gustavo Petro has indicated that the deep-sea exploration is a research mission and not the capture of the treasure.

In a statement on Thursday, the Colombian culture ministry said that the cannon, coins, and porcelain cup will be conserved in a laboratory devoted to the expedition.

It was 600 meters (nearly 2,000 feet) into the sea when it crashed.

It has been the current theory that an explosion brought the 62-gun, 3-masted galleon to the bottom, being ambushed by an English squadron. The government of Colombia has, however, indicated that it might have sunk due to alternative reasons, such as hull damage.

The ship has had a legal battle in the United States, Colombia, and Spain regarding the ownership of the rights to the sunken treasure.

Colombia is arbitrating the economic rights of the San Jose with Sea Search Armada, the U.S. investors. The company boasts of 10 billion dollars, which they estimate is equivalent to half of the Galleon treasure, which they allegedly found in 1982.