The Treasure of Captain William Kidd.

[BennyV]

Today’s value of 100,000 pounds in 1698 is around $15 million. So 5X or 10X this figure for historical/numismatic value and I think it falls in line with the potential value of it.

 

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[Randawg72]

Today’s value of 100,000 pounds in 1698 is around $15 million. So 5X or 10X this figure for historical/numismatic value and I think it falls in line with the potential value of it.

Hi BennyV,
It's actually £14,633,591.39. (as I stated in post #425).

 

[Randawg72]

Well irrelevant is a strong thing to say! Kidd was giving the figure of 100k £ not me!

Dismissing our estimates as guesses is not helpful. As most of the treasure is gold the estimates are quite realistic (with margin of error) because the gold price then now are known facts and as such the calculation is right. Please provide your own estimates if you know better.

The relative (political) value in the 17th century is important because it can help with understanding the overall story of Kidd's expedition. I can understand if you dismiss history as irrelevant in the age of satellite imagery and metal detectors but others here don't share this opinion.

Bocaj,
With due respect, you are comparing apples to kumquats.
The economic value, or 'buying power' of a British pound in 1698 VS today is £146.84. This figure is provided by The Bank of England.
Link: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
While a gold Guinea was worth £1 pound in 1698, the numismatic collector value of this coin can be worth $3,800 (for the example below) today.
Any 5th grade student knows that "The relative (political) value in the 17th century" of money has nothing at all to do with the current price of gold or the historical value of a coin.

 

[Bocaj]

Today’s value of 100,000 pounds in 1698 is around $15 million. So 5X or 10X this figure for historical/numismatic value and I think it falls in line with the potential value of it.

It's actually £14,633,591.39. (as I stated in post #425).

Inflation is not the same as value! The inflation figures are right but inflation is a mean value of consumer goods which each good can quite differentiate from the average! for gold it is 4 times as much and I guess precious stones are even more. Of course this assumption is based on the 'Avery the pirate' letters and also that even if its Kidd's own proceedings that he converted the goods into gold and precious stones before burying them!

Bocaj,
With due respect, you are comparing apples to kumquats.
The economic value, or 'buying power' of a British pound in 1698 VS today is £146.84. This figure is provided by The Bank of England.
Link: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator

That is totally irrelevant in our case as we neither going to use the coins as currency today nor do we speak about what consumer goods Kidd could have bought with it in 1700!
In any case if you insist on the relevance of inflation you are welcomed to use the coins in a supermarket to buy your food! LoL

Actually the monetary value of the treasure - assuming it would contain only coins - would be:

100 000£​

While a gold Guinea was worth £1 pound in 1698, the numismatic collector value of this coin can be worth $3,800 (for the example below) today.

which would exactly give 5x the value I think. I would assume a Mogul Empire coin from Kidd's treasure would even be worth much more.

Any 5th grade student knows that "The relative (political) value in the 17th century" of money has nothing at all to do with the current price of gold or the historical value of a coin.

No one wrote here it does. I think there is a confusion because I didn't clearly marked the different values

• for the use of profit from the treasure now (from 100m$ to 800m$)
• for our understanding of the importance of the treasure as a bargaining chip (8% of the Bank of England's founding capital)

for me the later is of more importance as it could help with actually finding it!
Which brings me back to the point why Kidd was hanged. The political power of such a treasure was immeasurable at the time. Why would they rather hang the man then at least trying to recover it?

 

[TORRERO]

Well irrelevant is a strong thing to say! Kidd was giving the figure of 100k £ not me!

And you believe that he knew exactly what he had ? I have 40 gold rings but I don't know exactly what I have...
Plus until someone turns up something, this all might be a fantasy that doesn't exist..

 

[Bocaj]

And you believe that he knew exactly what he had ? I have 40 gold rings but I don't know exactly what I have...

gold has a fixed value so its quite easy to calculate: take the value of a gold x weight and you know at least the material value. As ( https://www.treasurenet.com/threads/did-william-kidd-find-henry-averys-treasure.709634/post-7316239 ) the letters describe the content of the treasure being gold for the greater part. from the size and the weight of the chest he would more or less know how much they were worth. Obviously 100k£ is a rounded figure. Also the value of precious stone is not as easy to calculate so give it +-30%.

Plus until someone turns up something, this all might be a fantasy that doesn't exist..

That is of course always true (at least for Kidd) but Avery's treasure has never been found and the figure of 100k£ is quite realistic. The 'Avery the Pirate' letters seem to me quite authentic and lot less 'fantasy' then the Palmer maps.

I mentioned that I am basically only interested in Avery's treasure. Kidd was send to rob the robbers so to speak and I see at least the possibility that he succeeded in finding Avery's treasure. He was actually tasked to do exactly that so the idea isn't that crazy I think.

 

[TORRERO]

gold has a fixed value

Not according the market I’ve been watching 😳😂🤣

 

[TORRERO]

the letters describe the content of the treasure being gold for the greater part. from the size and the weight of the chest he would more or less know how much they were worth. Obviously 100k£ is a rounded figure. Also the value of precious stone is not as easy to calculate so give it +-30%.

Yes you’re basing your estimate on a piece of paper written 300 years ago by people you don’t know and have never met, there is no way to know what is legitimate or what is not… all this is speculation based on a letter…
All I said was that the reality is that there is no way to know exactly what IF anything actually exists!!

 

[Bocaj]

Not according the market I’ve been watching 😳😂🤣

These days money isn't backed by anything but thrust in its ability to be exchanged for more or less the same amount of goods in a near future. I wouldn't bet on that religion to last much longer and when the financial system goes belly up then gold will be the only currency available. Its limited supply will raise its value 1000x at least when the day comes.