Using Metal Detectors to Find the Buried Pirate Treasure

Aug. 28, 2014 - PRLog -- It’s not the case that there’s no treasure out there in the world to find. It’s just that pirates didn’t bury it in a treasure chest on a beach with a clearly-marked map. There’s a difference between buried treasure and lost treasure.

There have been significant pirate hoards that have been found, where pirates stored their treasure in remote locations rather than burying it. For example, for centuries, hunters have been searching for the “Lima loot,” a massive hoard of gold, silver, jewelry, and religious and cultural artifacts stolen by Captain William Thompson in 1820, said to be worth in excess of $260m. The treasure was supposedly stored on an island in the Pacific, and is reported to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island.”

However, even the treasure hoards are rare and often fraught with embellishment and apocryphal storytelling. Another source of treasure could be on the bottom of the seas, however. Over the centuries, there have been many ships that sank with valuables on board. At one time, the infamous Titanic was considered to be a special type of treasure to be hunted. The coal carried in the ship’s hull alone would be worth millions today. However, after the wreck was discovered at the bottom of the Atlantic, a fight emerged, seeking the preservation of the ship as a gravesite. BEST METAL DETECTOR: http://www.ebay.com/itm/RATED-BEST-Metal-Detector-Garrett...

Other well-known shipwrecks may have plenty of loot in them, but they are often far too expensive to look for (especially if you’re not exactly sure what you’ll find) or too dangerous. For example, the Whydah Gally sunk off the coast of Massachusetts in 1717 with a treasure of 400,000 gold and silver coins. The sunken ship was discovered in 1984, but not all of the treasure was on board. Explorer Barry Clifford supposed the coins fell from the ship as it sunk, leaving what he called a “yellow brick road” of treasure behind it. However, once he spent more than $200,000 on a couple dozen trips to look for it, the profit margin was far less desirable.

Similarly, an estimated $10b of loot from a Spanish colonial shipwreck was found on Crusoe Island in the 2005, but a huge legal battle emerged over the ownership to the wreck and contents. So, even if you find it, you may not even have a right to it. After all, you’ll be dealing with maritime law, international law and the laws of any coastline you encounter.

So, what’s left out there?
All is not lost when it comes to finding treasure. A rank amateur can pick up a metal detector for less than $100, though if you’re really considering this, you might want to get a better device. According to The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/jul/05/finding-trea...), there are 67,000 discoveries each year, and 78% of them come from private metal detectors. However, you should realize that people have been using metal detectors since the 70s to look for buried items, and you’re most likely to find nothing more than spare change.

Some hobbyists have designed their own treasure hunts. Probably the most famous of this type was by author Kit Williams with his 1979 picture book “Masquerade.” Williams buried a solid gold hare in the U.K. and invited readers to unlock the clues of its location by reading the book. However, this story ended in scandal when the winner was found to have a personal connection with Williams and had learned the general location of the hare without solving the 19-word riddle from the book.

Similarly, in 2011, 80-year-old art dealer Forrest Fenn claimed to have buried a treasure worth more than $1m in the Santa Fe area. Although some people claim to have found bits and pieces of the treasure, Fenn contends that the bulk is still out there to find.

Other real-life treasures can be found around the world, like gold in central California (though most of that was sucked up in the Gold Rush of the 1840s and 1850s) and meteorites just about anywhere (though be careful not to end up like that lunkhead Jordy Verrill from Creepshow).

And if you’re still game to brave real-life pirates, bank account drain, international law, and jungle dangers, you can check out a variety of lists on the internet for real-life lost treasures. Just be careful, and be sure to bring your towel.