MADRID: Odyssey Marine Exploration, the U.S. treasure hunter, has acknowledged that it recovered more than 11,000 Spanish gold and silver coins as part of its much-publicized haul from a shipwreck whose ownership is being challenged by Spain, court papers show.

Britain has given Spain copies of two export licenses that Odyssey officials filed with the Gibraltar government detailing the booty it shipped out to the United States on two private transport planes. The treasure was flown to New York on April 10 and May 14.

The Spanish government filed the export licenses late Wednesday with U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, where Spain is challenging Odyssey’s petitions to exclusive salvage rights on three shipwreck sites that the company said it discovered this year in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Besides the 10,800 silver and 203 gold coins, Odyssey told the Gibraltar customs authorities that it also brought to the surface three gold boxes; copper, tin and bronze ingots; a cannonball; and a bronze pulley wheel.

It estimated the value of the trove at $1.49 million. (more…)

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rallied Thursday, as the dollar’s tumble against other currencies combined with record-high crude-oil prices to propel the precious metal to its highest level in 27 years. Other metals prices — particularly silver which surged nearly 3% — also posted strong gains.

“Investors are flocking to gold today as the U.S. dollar continues its slide,” said Peter Spina, an analyst at GoldSeek.com. “This rally could carry the price to and past the $800 mark before it takes a rest. The fundamentals and technicals are supporting this view.”

A Madison man who sold coins on eBay for several years until he suffered losses in commodity trading and gambling pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in connection with defrauding customers of $171,000. Between May 1 and Dec. 29, 2006, John E. Paul took payment from 24 customers for collectible coins he auctioned on eBay’s Web site without sending them their merchandise.

Paul, 51, had been a successful coin seller on eBay, listing coins under the registered name “badgerbay.” But by 2006, eBay began receiving numerous complaints about “badgerbay” not shipping purchased items and being nonresponsive to inquiries, Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Johnson said.

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar hit parity with the U.S. dollar for the first time in 31 years on Thursday, capping a 62 percent rise from 2002 on the back of booming commodity prices and a deepening disenchantment with the greenback.

The historic level comes as oil prices sit near record highs and a China-led building boom helps boost base metals prices, developments that have guided billions in profits to Canada’s resource-rich West, stoking the bulk of the currency’s past rise.

“The huge increase in commodity prices in general have fed the acceleration of the Canadian dollar,” said Carlos Leitao, chief economist at Laurentian Bank of Canada.