LIVING HISTORY
86
TREASURE COAST BOATING
salvaging shipwrecks and recovering millions of dollars in
gold, silver, jewels and other artifacts.
Some are lucky enough to know exactly from childhood
what they want to do for the rest of their lives. For John
Brandon, becoming a treasure hunter was not an option, but
a calling. A Florida native, he grew up on the beaches of Fort
Pierce, where he found his first 1715 Fleet silver coin at the
age of 13. He was captivated by stories of finding sunken
treasure told through a friend, Don Porter, who went on salvaging
trips with Mel Fisher. Later that same year, Brandon’s
world would change at Porter’s home.
“At Don’s house, he introduced me to Mel,” he recalled.
“They had come back from the wreck sites, Mel had a towel
full of gold and silver they had brought in from that day and
laid it on the table and showed it to me. I knew right then,
for sure, what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In fact,
I asked Mel for a job that day. I’m 13, and he said, ‘Not yet,
you’re too young — but try back in a few years.’ ”
IT TAKES A TEAM
Those were the early years of the 1960s — when Fisher unearthed
precious gold, silver and artifacts from sunken Span- >>
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JOHN BRANDON COLLECTION
As a young boy, Brandon knew he was destined to hunt for treasure.
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