A pair of treasure hunters in Florida say they discovered a trove of Spanish coins from a 1715 shipwreck while scanning a beach with a metal detector.

Jonah Martinez, 43, of St. Lucie, made the historic find Friday while scouring the sand at the Turtle Trail Beach Access in Indian River County with his friend. The duo dug up 22 Spanish silver coins believed to be from a shipwreck 305 years ago — a discovery Martinez estimates is worth about $7,000, TCPalm.com reports.

“Not everyone knows why it’s called the Treasure Coast,” Martinez told the newspaper. “This is why.”

Twelve Spanish ships packed with treasures from the New World were headed for Spain on July 31, 1715, but 11 of the galleons were lost during a hurricane off the Florida coast. The bulk of the treasure is still beneath the ocean, the newspaper reports.

“I know how to read the beach, and I’m always trying to increase my odds of finding something,” said Martinez.

Martinez’s friend Cole Smith accompanied him on the excursion along Florida’s aptly named Treasure Coast, which runs along the Atlantic shoreline through the state’s Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties.

“Our metal detectors were catching target after target,” Smith told WPEC. “We found 22 beautiful Spanish coins from the 1715 treasure shipwreck that were all hammer-struck … You can lick it and taste the saltwater.”

But the discovery isn’t even the most lucrative find of Martinez’s 24-year treasure-hunting career. He once found $6.5 million worth of gold coins, the newspaper reports.

State law requires recovery permits for artifacts found on state-owned land underwater, but not on public beaches, TCPalm.com reports.

Martinez said he will leave his latest find untouched and unpolished.

“It’s a passion,” he told TCPalm.com. “It’s the thrill of the hunt that I love.”