TAMPA, Florida — The head of a Florida-based treasure hunting company announced it is giving up its claim to the wreck of the HMS Victory. Odyssey Marine Exploration CEO Greg Stemm said his company will continue to work with the British government on salvaging it and could still profit from treasure and artifacts raised from the famous wreck. Earlier this year, Odyssey found the wreck of the legendary British 100-gun man-of-war, which sank in the English Channel in 1744. To date, Odyssey has received a salvage award of about $160,000 after turning over two brass cannons already raised from the wreck. Experts believe the wreck contains four tons of gold coins. On another legal battlefront, Odyssey is fighting to keep 17 tons of silver and other artifacts worth an estimated $500 million taken from what is thought to be the galleon Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes y las Animas. Spain has demanded that Odyssey return everything it has taken from the wreck. Last June, a federal magistrate judge sided with Spain, urging Odyssey to return the treasure. | 
