The Curse of Oak Island - The last "great" treasure hunting show?

[gazzahk]

With the ending of any serious attempt to find treasure on oak Island that this latest season has shown one wonders if there are any great "land based" treasure left be be hunted and found...

The only treasure shows that have actually found any significant treasure are those on ship wrecks. The successful ones of these have been well financed and researched efforts costing millions of dollars to search.

The idea we grew up with as kids believing one could stumble across hidden 'ancient' riches seems pretty unbelievable now in that no one really has. The valuable things found on land in my lifetime have for the most part not been intentionally hidden treasures but misplaced artworks hat have been re-found. I do not ever remember reading anyone finding things like: Hidden Pirate Treasure, Aztec treasure, Inca Treasure or Templar treasure. I really do not remember any hidden treasure hoards being recovered (By this I mean a room full of gold and jewels etc not a jar of coins or ancient art work).

So does anyone really think there are any hidden great treasures waiting to be found that research can show the location of? If so they would of been found.

If there are any i would think only random chance will show them up. The idea of raising money to undertake a treasure search for fabled hidden riches is dead I would think. (as opposed to just making a TV show that really does not believe that finding treasure is the main point)

Oak Island is possibly the last multi series treasure hunt show that actually may of started with a real belief that treasure may be found..

Thoughts?

 

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[signal_line]

Yeah, kinda felt the same way. Shows like the Josh Gates archaeologist give me the feeling they are trying to discourage anyone from even looking. Well, those big legends and myths are ones to avoid anyway. Plenty of stuff still being buried.

 

[DaveVanP]

I wonder, if after Oak Island fizzles out, or loses viewership, what the next "big treasure hunt" will be? Civil War Gold fizzled...Yamashita's Gold fizzled...even the Lost Dutchman could not keep viewers. What's next..? Remember - it has to be FABULOUS, unproveable, un-confirmable, and full of mystery and likely conspiracies.

Lue? (Nazi's in America is always a good draw)
Trabuco Stash? (18 tons of gold smuggled in from Mexico)
Victorio Peak? - (nah - it's on military property; probably moved to Area 51 50 years ago anyway...maybe Jack and Giorgio could team up!)

Another tact would be to find the "lost Egyptian City" in the Grand Canyon...

 

[Crow]

With the ending of any serious attempt to find treasure on oak Island that this latest season has shown one wonders if there are any great "land based" treasure left be be hunted and found...

The only treasure shows that have actually found any significant treasure are those on ship wrecks. The successful ones of these have been well financed and researched efforts costing millions of dollars to search.

The idea we grew up with as kids believing one could stumble across hidden 'ancient' riches seems pretty unbelievable now in that no one really has. The valuable things found on land in my lifetime have for the most part not been intentionally hidden treasures but misplaced artworks hat have been re-found. I do not ever remember reading anyone finding things like: Hidden Pirate Treasure, Aztec treasure, Inca Treasure or Templar treasure. I really do not remember any hidden treasure hoards being recovered (By this I mean a room full of gold and jewels etc not a jar of coins or ancient art work).

So does anyone really think there are any hidden great treasures waiting to be found that research can show the location of? If so they would of been found.

If there are any i would think only random chance will show them up. The idea of raising money to undertake a treasure search for fabled hidden riches is dead I would think. (as opposed to just making a TV show that really does not believe that finding treasure is the main point)

Oak Island is possibly the last multi series treasure hunt show that actually may of started with a real belief that treasure may be found..

Thoughts?

Gidday Amigo

There is treasure out there amigo....It just people choose the wrong ones to search for. I love all treasure stories as each can give you a lesson amigo, but there are only a few worth devoting time and money to.

Treasure hunting documentaries and Hollywood move promote fantasy amigo. All these programs are not real attempts of searching for treasure. The only real treasure they are seeking for is ratings.

99.99 % of treasure hunters fail. You might have better odds winning the lottery. Yet amigo on rare occasions some treasure legends to turn out to be true. Perhaps 0.1 %. Kanacki and I have posted some here.

But amigo you have also understand why 99.99% fail?

99.99% fail because they fail to be clinical in their research. They become emotionally attached to their quest that causes them to have Confirmation bias. Which occurs when the person performing the data analysis wants to prove a predetermined assumption. ... in researching where they ignore facts that do not match their theory or hypothesis.

It is an easy thing to fall into that and everyone who researches treasure legends will fall into that one time or another.

Another factor amigo Most treasure hunters fail because they become involved in a local treasure legend because chiefly of convenience hoping its true? As you mentioned few realize the cost of searching for treasure especially in different countries. Few understand you need contacts and a network. Few people understand moving such items over international borders or international agreements. If its on the ocean times the costs by 3 times or even more.

Few realize most of the famous legends are famous for being just legends. Few realize even if you fall with in that 01% amigo there are no guarantees you get to keep anything you find. Most countries are progressively outlawing such activities and even if you had permission and if you go public there is always some one wanting to sue you for their perceived share. And very few have an understanding of turning such discovery into liquid assets.

Find treasure amigo I guarantee you the vultures will come out. Treasure hunting has been denigrated by academia and a new generation of virtue signaling narcissists that commercial exploitation of buried treasure is Evil. So governments ever mindful of such bleeding hearts that fear doing business with such projects in the fear of scandal.

Even with searching for shipwrecks laws and never ending battle of red tape. Is progressively killing off economic viability of such commercial operations on land or sea. Another problem is access is always on land some one else owns. Some times agreements cannot always come to fruition.

So amigo the would be searcher amigo is forced to walk a very fine line between legal and illegal.Where does one step?

Now would you film yourself stealing from a bank safe? The post it on line or make a documentary of doing it? Of course not that is why documentaries of treasure hunting are all fantasy.

The last thing you would do amigo is make anything public if you did not need too. And definitely never admit to anything you do not have to. But once again you have crossed the line into a nefarious world amigo.

When crossing into that world would you really risk everything you have for potential gain?

Crow

 

[Terry Soloman]

Treasures have been found, and continue to be found. The public never finds out if the hunters do their job well. The ONLY reason treasure shows ever air, is the ADVERTISING GOLD they generate. If you found a treasure of 300-gold coins, would you want the world to know? Look what happened to the couple in California. They could have sold 7-10 at a time and no one would have known anything about them, or the coins.

TV is about Advertising money - period.

 

[RTR]

Treasures have been found, and continue to be found. The public never finds out if the hunters do their job well. The ONLY reason treasure shows ever air, is the ADVERTISING GOLD they generate. If you found a treasure of 300-gold coins, would you want the world to know? Look what happened to the couple in California. They could have sold 7-10 at a time and no one would have known anything about them, or the coins.

TV is about Advertising money - period.

Ah the beauty of recording and fast forwarding the commercials

 

[Gold Maven]

I wonder, if after Oak Island fizzles out, or loses viewership, what the next "big treasure hunt" will be? Civil War Gold fizzled...Yamashita's Gold fizzled...even the Lost Dutchman could not keep viewers. What's next..? Remember - it has to be FABULOUS, unproveable, un-confirmable, and full of mystery and likely conspiracies.

Lue? (Nazi's in America is always a good draw)
Trabuco Stash? (18 tons of gold smuggled in from Mexico)
Victorio Peak? - (nah - it's on military property; probably moved to Area 51 50 years ago anyway...maybe Jack and Giorgio could team up!)

Another tact would be to find the "lost Egyptian City" in the Grand Canyon...

Yamashita's gold fizzled?

Unless I'm mistaken, the last episode was when they drilled into a chamber, sent the camera in, and it showed wooden crates stacked up.....

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

The last "great" treasure hunting show?

No on several accounts.

1.) it's not that great a show
2.) they never identified what treasure it is that they are searching for
3.) there ARE known lost treasures that someone will eventually go after (hopefully in documentary form AFTER the treasure is found)
4.) we can hope the whole unreal reality show concept falls out of favor and we get back to informative programming

 

[Singlestack Wonder]

It would be great to see a competing channel host a show entitled, "The Hoax of Oak Island".

It would focus on interviews with actual historians and archaeologists while having them dissect all of the fiction purveyed by previous hoaxers ranging from the mcginnis brothers thru modern times including chappel, restall, blankenship, nolan, and the laginas and their team (I may have missed a few).

 

[Bruce R]

The Curse of Oak Island - The last "great" treasure hunting show?

Has anyone else noticed that every one of these shows, treasure hunting, sasquatch hunting, lost cities, aliens, etc etc etc all end as “ unresolved “ Every single one of them. Josh Gates knows nothing more at the end of the show than he did in his initial presentation at the start of the show.

 

[gazzahk]

Has anyone else noticed that every one of these shows, treasure hunting, sasquatch hunting, lost cities, aliens, etc etc etc all end as “ unresolved “ Every single one of them. Josh Gates knows nothing more at the end of the show than he did in his initial presentation at the start of the show.

Exactly... Research into where 'fabled lost" land based treasures have netted zero actual results.. When I did some research I could find no example of people ever finding "hidden pirate treasure".

If any of these fabled/mythical hidden lost treasures exist it would appear that research and searching is not going to find them or they would of been found by now.

That must mean either "These treasures do not exist" or "there is zero real evidence of where they are hidden" or "they have been found and spent with people keeping it a secret because they know the government will not let them keep it"

Most of the finds you do read about are not hidden treasures but simply old stuff being found that was not really hidden but forgotten or misplaced.

You would think if things like the 'speculated' wealth of the Knights Templar was found by someone then some of the artifacts would of ended up in circulation (but maybe they have one gold coin looks like another)...

I however no longer believe that any of these fabled lost/mythical treasures are likely to be found by careful research (other than shipwrecks).

It seems probable that any treasure hunting TV show is not actually of the belief that they will find any hidden great treasures...

 

[Crow]

Gidday Gazzahk

That tells me you have not done your homework amigo. That is tired old line academics use to discourage wanabe treasure hunters that " no such thing as pirate treasure has ever been found."

While it is very rare it does happen.

One case in question was Edward Rowe Snow.

Edward Rowe Snow (August 22, 1902 Winthrop, Massachusetts – April 10, 1982 Boston, Massachusetts) was an American author and historian. He was the son of Edward Sumpter and Alice Nichsols (Rowe) Snow. He graduated from Harvard University, and Boston University, with an M.A.



Snow is widely known for his stories of pirates and other nautical subjects; he wrote over forty books and many shorter publications. In all, he was the author of more than 100 publications, mainly about New England coastal history.

Mr. Snow was also a major chronicler of New England maritime history. With the publication of The Islands of Boston Harbor in 1935, he became famous as a historian of the New England coast and also as a popular storyteller, lecturer, preservationist, and treasure hunter. Forty years later, he was still publishing.


He is also famous for carrying on the tradition of the "Flying Santa" for over forty years (1936–1980). Every Christmas he would hire a small plane and drop wrapped gifts to the lighthouse keepers and their families.


While indeed I was Skeptical as he was author and bit of showman. So I dug into his claims. ( the history of claimed discoveries I use as a research exercise to sharpen research skills ) In fact I was a little guilty of Confirmation bias already determined the whole story as a fake publicity stunt to flog books.

But the deeper I researched the more evidence I had uncovered that Snow the author through an aged Canadian fan of his books told Snow, in fact drew a map where his ancestor who was crew member of Edward low buried a cache on isle Haute Nova Scotia.



Looking at the map I First thought fake. It was not drawn at the time of burial but drawn in the 1930's by Canadian descendant of A crew member of Low. He recovered a treasure chest in the 1930's and beloved there was more still there buried on a stony tide spit on the island of Haute.



( I do have a name but forgotten the name my apologies I did find out many details about him ) I think a lot of information is in computer in my other house in Tahiti.

In 1947, Massachusetts historian and author Edward Rowe Snow bought what he believed was a treasure map that may have been connected to Low. ... The name written on the map drawn , Snow believed, the treasure cache belonged to the pirate Edward Low. In June 1952, Snow took a boat out to Isle Haute to explore the site marked as “The Place” on the map.

The isle of Haute was some times places where pirates like Edward Low would hide out.




In June 1952, armed with his map and metal detector, Snow set out for Isle Haute and made arrangements to stay at the lighthouse with Keeper John Melvin Fullerton, his wife Margaret and their teenage son Donald. Snow wrote of his approach to Isle Haute in his book True Tales of Pirates and Their Gold. “Almost nothing can equal the thrill of sailing out to sea on the way to a romantic island which one has never visited. When this thrill was combined with the knowledge that pirates had buried treasure on the island to which we were sailing, my excitement knew no bounds.”

Keeper Fullerton told Snow that many others had also looked for treasure on the island. Soon after he arrived, Snow’s metal detector picked up a strong reading at the edge of a previously dug pit. By himself as the sun was setting, Snow dug with a pick for 20 minutes when he suddenly uncovered the ribs of a human skeleton.

“On my next swing with the pick,” he wrote, “the sharp point caught on something in the ground. The earth tore away and I saw it was a human skull which rolled across my feet! Completely losing my nerve, I scrambled out of the pit, grabbed the lantern and started walking rapidly toward the lighthouse far away on the top of the island cliff.”

The next morning, in daylight with Keeper Fullerton and his son close by, Snow returned to finish his digging. He found several coins in the area around the skeleton. The Spanish and Portuguese coins were well over 200 years old.



Before returning to Massachusetts, Snow was interviewed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When it was determined that part of his modest treasure find was gold, the coins had to be left “in the efficient care of the Bank of Nova Scotia.” A short time later Snow was able to obtain a license to export the coins. Life Magazine ran a feature on the Isle Haute “Red Taped Pirate Gold” on July 21, 1952, bringing national attention to the fascinating island.

Snow believed that the bulk of Low’s treasure might have been found years before by the Canadian descendant before he reached Isle Haute’s shores.



So amigo from confirmation that Canadian descendant existed , who had some good fortune and correspondence in regards to shipment of coins and documents from the bank Bank of Nova Scotia, and export permit documents, Statements from the lighthouse keepers all claimed he recovered coins.

However being realistic amigo we can only rely on the statements of the Canadian descendant presented to Snow. But in all I could not dismiss the fact that coins was found in the 1930's and later in the 1952 that most likely pertain to piracy amigo. As it actually being connected to Edward Low I can neither confirm or de-nigh.

So amigo there are other accounts some very few even know about.

Crow

 

[gazzahk]

Thanks Crow... But a few coins is not really what i was talking about..

I was referring to "never work again" type riches.

But thanks for the share..

 

[Al D]

Gidday Gazzahk

That tells me you have not done your homework amigo. That is tired old line academics use to discourage wanabe treasure hunters that " no such thing as pirate treasure has ever been found."

While it is very rare it does happen.

One case in question was Edward Rowe Snow.

Edward Rowe Snow (August 22, 1902 Winthrop, Massachusetts – April 10, 1982 Boston, Massachusetts) was an American author and historian. He was the son of Edward Sumpter and Alice Nichsols (Rowe) Snow. He graduated from Harvard University, and Boston University, with an M.A.

View attachment 1901374

Snow is widely known for his stories of pirates and other nautical subjects; he wrote over forty books and many shorter publications. In all, he was the author of more than 100 publications, mainly about New England coastal history.

Mr. Snow was also a major chronicler of New England maritime history. With the publication of The Islands of Boston Harbor in 1935, he became famous as a historian of the New England coast and also as a popular storyteller, lecturer, preservationist, and treasure hunter. Forty years later, he was still publishing.


He is also famous for carrying on the tradition of the "Flying Santa" for over forty years (1936–1980). Every Christmas he would hire a small plane and drop wrapped gifts to the lighthouse keepers and their families.


While indeed I was Skeptical as he was author and bit of showman. So I dug into his claims. ( the history of claimed discoveries I use as a research exercise to sharpen research skills ) In fact I was a little guilty of Confirmation bias already determined the whole story as a fake publicity stunt to flog books.

But the deeper I researched the more evidence I had uncovered that Snow the author through an aged Canadian fan of his books told Snow, in fact drew a map where his ancestor who was crew member of Edward low buried a cache on isle Haute Nova Scotia.

View attachment 1901385

Looking at the map I First thought fake. It was not drawn at the time of burial but drawn in the 1930's by Canadian descendant of A crew member of Low. He recovered a treasure chest in the 1930's and beloved there was more still there buried on a stony tide spit on the island of Haute.

View attachment 1901376

( I do have a name but forgotten the name my apologies I did find out many details about him ) I think a lot of information is in computer in my other house in Tahiti.

In 1947, Massachusetts historian and author Edward Rowe Snow bought what he believed was a treasure map that may have been connected to Low. ... The name written on the map drawn , Snow believed, the treasure cache belonged to the pirate Edward Low. In June 1952, Snow took a boat out to Isle Haute to explore the site marked as “The Place” on the map.

The isle of Haute was some times places where pirates like Edward Low would hide out.

View attachment 1901380


In June 1952, armed with his map and metal detector, Snow set out for Isle Haute and made arrangements to stay at the lighthouse with Keeper John Melvin Fullerton, his wife Margaret and their teenage son Donald. Snow wrote of his approach to Isle Haute in his book True Tales of Pirates and Their Gold. “Almost nothing can equal the thrill of sailing out to sea on the way to a romantic island which one has never visited. When this thrill was combined with the knowledge that pirates had buried treasure on the island to which we were sailing, my excitement knew no bounds.”

Keeper Fullerton told Snow that many others had also looked for treasure on the island. Soon after he arrived, Snow’s metal detector picked up a strong reading at the edge of a previously dug pit. By himself as the sun was setting, Snow dug with a pick for 20 minutes when he suddenly uncovered the ribs of a human skeleton.

“On my next swing with the pick,” he wrote, “the sharp point caught on something in the ground. The earth tore away and I saw it was a human skull which rolled across my feet! Completely losing my nerve, I scrambled out of the pit, grabbed the lantern and started walking rapidly toward the lighthouse far away on the top of the island cliff.”

The next morning, in daylight with Keeper Fullerton and his son close by, Snow returned to finish his digging. He found several coins in the area around the skeleton. The Spanish and Portuguese coins were well over 200 years old.

View attachment 1901378

Before returning to Massachusetts, Snow was interviewed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When it was determined that part of his modest treasure find was gold, the coins had to be left “in the efficient care of the Bank of Nova Scotia.” A short time later Snow was able to obtain a license to export the coins. Life Magazine ran a feature on the Isle Haute “Red Taped Pirate Gold” on July 21, 1952, bringing national attention to the fascinating island.

Snow believed that the bulk of Low’s treasure might have been found years before by the Canadian descendant before he reached Isle Haute’s shores.

View attachment 1901384

So amigo from confirmation that Canadian descendant existed , who had some good fortune and correspondence in regards to shipment of coins and documents from the bank Bank of Nova Scotia, and export permit documents, Statements from the lighthouse keepers all claimed he recovered coins.

However being realistic amigo we can only rely on the statements of the Canadian descendant presented to Snow. But in all I could not dismiss the fact that coins was found in the 1930's and later in the 1952 that most likely pertain to piracy amigo. As it actually being connected to Edward Low I can neither confirm or de-nigh.

So amigo there are other accounts some very few even know about.

Crow

I think I read one of his books once, where he claimed to be in possession of the skull of Blackbeard the pirate, and on a stormy night, it talked to him......scared the crap out of me, but then I was about 12 years old or so.

 

[Crow]

Thanks Crow... But a few coins is not really what i was talking about..

I was referring to "never work again" type riches.

But thanks for the share..

Gidday amigo

I know of one of those too but its better not to believed than believed. I am too old to be some ones ***** in jail amigo.

Crow

 

[Crow]

I think I read one of his books once, where he claimed to be in possession of the skull of Blackbeard the pirate, and on a stormy night, it talked to him......scared the crap out of me, but then I was about 12 years old or so.

No doubt he was ever the showman. One of reasons why I suspected he liked to exaggerate in his stories. That was style he wrote not in the academic fashion expected of a Harvard university graduate today. Today he would of been shunned and publicly disowned by academia for engaging in the sin of treasure hunting.

But the fact remains he did find coins from the period of piracy.

Crow

 

[Crow]

Yeah, kinda felt the same way. Shows like the Josh Gates archaeologist give me the feeling they are trying to discourage anyone from even looking. Well, those big legends and myths are ones to avoid anyway. Plenty of stuff still being buried.

Yes Josh Gates is not in the business of treasure hunting but making documentaries of treasure stories and legends.

Crow

 

[Crow]

Treasures have been found, and continue to be found. The public never finds out if the hunters do their job well. The ONLY reason treasure shows ever air, is the ADVERTISING GOLD they generate. If you found a treasure of 300-gold coins, would you want the world to know? Look what happened to the couple in California. They could have sold 7-10 at a time and no one would have known anything about them, or the coins.

TV is about Advertising money - period.

Definitely on the money there.

Crow

 

[Crow]

The last "great" treasure hunting show?

No on several accounts.

1.) it's not that great a show
2.) they never identified what treasure it is that they are searching for
3.) there ARE known lost treasures that someone will eventually go after (hopefully in documentary form AFTER the treasure is found)
4.) we can hope the whole unreal reality show concept falls out of favor and we get back to informative programming

Cannot agree more.

Crow

 

[cyzak]

Many will seek few will succeed.