“Silver Rush”: Deep-sea treasure quest three-part series premieres Feb. 24

The three-part Discovery Channel series “Silver Rush” debuts with back-to-back episodes airing from 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Details on the series, provided by Discovery Channel, are as follows:

This past summer, Discovery Channel cameras rolled as the world’s best-known deep-sea recovery team, Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME), successfully recovered approximately 48 tons of silver bullion from the SS Gairsoppa – making it the deepest and heaviest cargo recovery in history.

SILVER RUSH, a new three-episode series narrated by Mike Rowe, tells the story of one of the greatest deep-sea treasure quests of all time.  The series will take viewers on board Odyssey’s flagship, the Odyssey Explorer, as it launches its most audacious operation ever — locate and excavate three shipwrecks worth as much as a billion dollars all in one season.

In 2007, Discovery Channel was there as OME hit the jackpot with the discovery of the “Black Swan,” a Colonial-era site with 17 tons of silver and gold worth hundreds of millions of dollars.  However, after a five-year legal battle, Odyssey was forced to hand over the treasure to Spain, one of the nations that claimed the treasure.  The ruling delivered a devastating blow for OME founder/CEO Greg Stemm and the company’s anxious investors.  “You have to be willing to go through years of very difficult situations with your eye on the prize long term,” Stemm said.