From Divernet:

The wreck of the 18th century’s most powerful warship, HMS Victory, sunk in the English Channel in 1744 with the loss of some 1000 lives, is to be salvaged.

A flagged vessel owned by the British Government, the wreck was found by American company Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2008.

Artefacts include many large bronze cannon and, possibly, a four-ton haul of gold and silver coins which could be worth more than £600 million.

A new organisation, the Maritime Heritage Foundation, has been formed to oversee the work, which is expected to be contracted to Odyssey in return for rights to a percentage of finds.

Two cannon and a number of small items have already been raised by Odyssey, in order to help verify the wreck’s identity.

For more information: http://www.divernet.com/home_diving_news/1232380/victory_to_be_salvaged.html