The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum is named after its founder, Mel Fisher. It is situated at 200 Greene Street in Key West, Florida. The major artifacts collections in the museum are shipwrecks of seventeenth century, such as Santa Margarita, Nuestra Senora de Atocha, and Henrietta Marie. One of the main tourist attractions of the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum was a solid gold bar. The gold bar has been placed in a plexiglass case and the museum allowed visitors to lift the case. However, two thieves stole this bar in August 2010 and it is yet to be traced.

If you are an individual interested in watching old shipwrecks, then this museum is an ideal place for you to visit when you are in Key West. The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum has properly chronicled the incredible discovery of the shipwreck, Nuestra Senora de Atocha. Many of the artifacts from that shipwreck such as gold, silver, and jewelry are on display at the museum. Many visitors to the museum have been greatly impressed by the story of this Atocha shipwreck and the display of its artifacts.

You not only get to watch the treasures on display at this museum but you could even buy a few if you could afford the high prices of these artifacts. The museum maintains a separate jewelry store from where the visitors could buy one or more of these historic treasures. Further, you could combine a visiting ticket that combines visits to this museum and Ernest Hemingway’s House and save a few dollars.

Even though the museum is quite small, it offers an interesting experience. The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum provides detailed information into the past history of the island and the fifteenth century Spanish influence. It is reported that coins, emeralds, and gold are still arriving as shipwreck finds even after 400 years. The display of the ‘loot’ by the pirates of the previous centuries and the exquisite jewels would astonish the visitors. The museum is able to provide complete details on how such rich items got loaded into these ships and the staff members of the museum are quite friendly. The visiting hours of the museum are 8-30 am to 5-00 pm.