The Tucker’s Pectoral Cross

A deep dive into World’s Most Valuable object ever found in a Shipwreck

6 min readJul 11, 2020

“Mystery is defined as something that is a secret, something where there is no clear explanation, something difficult to understand or explain or something unexplainable or unsolvable. An example of a mystery is the location of your Christmas presents. An example of a mystery is whether there is proof that God exists.”

History seems to like controversies & mysteries a lot since its early stages. From Jesus’s death to unsolved age-old riddles and unknown relics, it has always thrilled us with its open possibilities. Today, we are going deep into such a topic that is infamous within itself. Not only how much the subject is controversial, but also the strange happenings around it that lead us to an open hole of unknown outcomes.

Sixteenth-century is full of maritime adventures and interesting events. The French and Spanish navies became very active these days. Today, we are talking about a shipwreck in the last decade of the century.

Bermuda is a prime vacation spot with astounding beaches. This exotic island is known for something else as well, the graveyard that surrounds it. Numerous shipwrecks lurk at the bottom of the treacherous sea that surrounds the island. We are talking about the shipwreck of a Spanish galleon San Pedro in 1594 in the Bermuda Islands. The Spanish galleon was carrying invaluable treasures but they lost their control under a valiant storm in the and was pulled to Bermuda’s shallow reefs.

The remains of the sunken ships of history are explored by divers from early stages, but one diver and treasure hunter explored over 100 shipwrecks in that sea. His name was Teddy Tucker. Bermudian Teddy Tucker is internationally considered one of the most brilliant hunters in the history of Marine Divers. The son of architect Edward Tucker, Mr. Tucker’s first job was at the Bermuda Aquarium which started his passion for the ocean. He has been exploring the ocean’s buried treasures since the late 1940s. In his decades-long career, he discovered over 100 historic shipwrecks in Bermuda waters, found numerous sunken treasures, was featured in international films and magazines and served as a consultant worldwide.

The infamous Bermuda Sea mentioned above.

Cut to 361 years later. Sunday, 18th (Arguably 11th) September 1955:

On a routine salvaging mission to recover lost commercial fishing equipment, Tucker happened upon San Pedro’s artifacts accidentally. While searching the ocean floor, usually where the shipwrecks happened in former days (later this particular area is named TTT > Teddy Tucker’s Triangle), he accidentally came across an emerald studded cross made of pure 22 karat gold lying on the floor of the ship. He quickly took it out and was astonished by its aesthetic sensibility and gorgeous design. The cross is none other than the infamous “TUCKER’S CROSS”.

As described by Teddy Tucker in his book “Treasure — A Diver’s Life” -

It was of Indian make being so simple and artistic which was only possible by Indian craftsmen considering its period. It contained seven emeralds on its face, each being as big as a musket ball. Small golden nails hung from rings on the arms of the cross to represent the nails that went through the hands of Christ during the crucifixion. Another ring was located at the bottom of the cross to represent the nails that went through his feet, but I could not find that nail.

In 1956 (the very next year after the finding), Tucker sent the Cross to British Museum for valuation. British Artifact Experts tested it and told him that it was the most valuable single object ever found in a shipwreck and it would be valued around $200,000. He decided not to sell and in 1959, he sold it to the Bermuda Government for $100,000 with the hope that the cross would stay on the island where he thought it belonged.

*Teddy Tucker & his wife (With the cross in her hand) | Source: Tucker’s Website*

The cross was featured in Bermuda’s 1969 commemorative collection. And in 1974, the Bermuda Government decided to keep it in the Bermuda Maritime Museum which was run by Teddy Tucker and his wife. In 1975, it was discovered that the Tucker’s Cross was stolen from the Maritime Museum and replaced with a replica. The discovery of the theft occurred just before Queen Elizabeth II was to officially visit the museum. Government officials believe the swap between the real and the fake was an inside job, but no evidence supports their claim. Though a couple of attempts to steal the Cross was reported but this one is considered a bit greater than a sheer coincidence as Queen Elizabeth was so interested to see the cross as it was considered by the British Museum to be the most valuable one.

Bermuda National Museum (Formerly known as Bermuda Maritime Museum) | Source: Wikipedia

New York Times, November 1975. the next day after the Queen’s visit. | Source: The NYT

Queen interacts with the local people of Bermuda while 1975’s Visit | Source: time.com

Since the thief went through the trouble of making a replica, many speculate that the job was done by an international art thief. Investigations were conducted by the Bermuda Police, the FBI, Scotland Yard, and Interpol, but there was little evidence for them to go on. Therefore, the whereabouts of the original Tucker’s Cross is unknown. The incident is noted as one of the most perfect crimes in the history of artifacts.

Tucker passed away in 2014 at the age of 89 leaving behind his discoveries and marine work in Bermuda and around the world that helped him to get the title “Voice of the Sargasso Sea”. If the cross is ever found, the man who unearthed it from Bermuda’s treacherous sea will surely be smiling from heaven.

Tucker’s cross is considered to be the most valuable single object ever found in a shipwreck and will value more than $250,000 now. Though, Mel Fisher recovered a memorizing twenty-two-carat emerald cross from the 1622 wreck of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha which was strikingly similar in design as the Tucker cross but still with the term of events and the mysterious theft, it has always been a point of interest for a lot of researchers. There are claims that this cross has somehow a connection with Jesus and was made way before in Kashmir (where according to controversial theories, Jesus breathed his last). But these are just theories and might be made up to cope with the subsequent controversies. We tried to present it as briefly and transparently as possible as there are many conflicts in this topic over the internet about the origin, timelines, and whereabouts. Hope you enjoyed it.