By the beginning of the Crimean war, the British government was chartered to transport troops and ammunition in Crimea over 200 commercial vessels. November 8, 1854, along with other British ships on external Balaklava RAID arrived ship "Black Prince". After five days over the Crimean Peninsula swept Southeast hurricane of unprecedented force and all the vessels sank.

Black Prince" also went to the bottom. Along with him went under water the mystery of the most famous and mysterious treasure whose search has ever conducted on the territory of our country.

The birth of a legend

However, British Newspapers of that time wrote that the shipment "Prince" basically consisted of clothes - shirts, coats, hats, underwear and bed sheets, blankets, sleeping bags and things like that. But ended the Crimean war, and it turned out that on Board the ship was money intended for payday British servicemen in the Crimea. However, relative to the cost of the precious cargo information parted: 200 thousand pounds, million pounds, 500 thousand francs, 5-6 million roubles... Rumors about the treasures buried at the bottom of the Black sea, very soon attracted to Balaklava enterprising hunters.

In December 1922 a "Black Prince" are already interested in the management of the GPU and personally Iron Felix. On the engineer Yazykov and with Moscow's consent to search the ship was created EPRON (Expedition of underwater works of special purpose). The expedition worked in strict secrecy. Soviet treasure hunters helped case. In October 1924 the divers found the broken body of a large iron ship, almost completely buried under sand drifts and the debris of the collapsed rocks. For two months of work on a lost ship pronouce became the owners of the collection of curious objects - a hand grenade, a washstand, hospital shoes, porcelain mortar... But with the Golden things were worse: not found of the same coin.

Gradually enthusiasm unlucky hunters was exhausted, and in December 1924 all work on "the Prince" stopped. Search of hypothetical gold cost Epron 100 thousand very real roubles. Soon, however, the opportunity more than compensate for the losses. Treasures "Black Prince" has become interested in Japanese diving company. Its representatives promised Epron 110 thousand rubles for preliminary research and 60% of gold, which was supposed to raise. The Soviet side such conditions are quite satisfied.

The Japanese did not find anything. However, one of the divers found the first gold coin - English sovereign minting of 1821. Inspired by the Japanese with renewed energy continued the search. Alas, within two months of exhausting work, the collection of gold coins were added only four - the amount is clearly insufficient to recoup at least a hundredth part of the costs of the expedition. In November 1927 outrage treasure hunters left Balaklava...

So where are all the same has gone gold?

The wiser

There are several versions of fate precious cargo. One - gold was transferred to another ship in Constantinople.

Researchers have led to this conclusion by the fact that for almost semi-travelway the period of searching for England did not try to obtain a license for the rise of the treasure ship. And it's so different from the English.

Moreover, historians became known to the report of the British army quartermaster Williams Smith. It was found important information: "And though I had no special orders in relation to this valuable cargo, however, has claimed responsibility unload it on Sunday in Constantinople and has thereby saved him..."

Some researchers believe that the term "a valuable cargo" did you mean "diving device" "Nautilus", which was planned to make a passage in the Sevastopol Bay. Some believe that in 1924 gallant officers comrades Dzerzhinsky and Berries were still raised with "Prince" gold. However, following the traditions of the Department, the information was classified. Obtained values were spent on the restoration of the national economy. Well, trustful Japanese Soviet government simply was led by the nose to make some money on them.