For centuries, tales of buried treasure hoarded by pirates have captured the imagination. The promise of discovering these riches has lured many an explorer and treasure hunter to remote islands and coastlines around the world. But has any authentic pirate treasure ever actually been found?
The short answer is yes. There are a number of documented cases where pirates’ plunder has been successfully recovered. However, these discoveries only account for a tiny fraction of the volumes of gold, silver, jewels and other loot that pirates accumulated and supposedly buried. The vast majority remains lost, making it a never-ending source of fascination.
Famous Pirate Treasures That Have Been Found
Here are some of the more famous pirate treasures that have been unearthed over the years:
Captain Kidd’s Treasure
William “Captain” Kidd was a Scottish sailor who turned to piracy in the 1690s. He spent years raiding ships across the Indian Ocean and Caribbean before being captured and executed in London in 1701. It’s believed Kidd buried caches of his treasure in various spots to serve as a nest egg.
In 2015, a 50-kilogram (110 pound) silver bar was brought up from the wreck of Kidd’s ship off the coast of Madagascar. The bar was later auctioned off for around $400,000. Other treasures linked to Kidd have also surfaced over the centuries, including a bundle of gold coins excavated from Gardiners Island, New York in the late 1700s.
Blackbeard’s Gold
The notorious English pirate Blackbeard (Edward Teach) was known to have amassed a sizable fortune from plundering ships bound for Spain and England in the early 1700s. After his death at the hands of the Royal Navy in 1718, tales spread that his loot was buried on various islands.
In 1996, divers discovered a veritable jackpot off the North Carolina coast near the wreck of Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge. Hauled up were over 250 gold coins, gold dust, silver coins and other artifacts, later valued at $1 million. More finds have occurred since, giving credence to stories that Blackbeard secreted away his plunder in the area.
Treasure of Lima
The Treasure of Lima refers to a massive trove of gold, silver and jewels spirited away from Lima, Peru by Spanish colonists in 1820 to keep it from falling into the hands of revolutionaries. As the treasure crossed the Pacific, greedy sailors aboard the ship are said to have hijacked the loot and buried it on Cocos Island off Costa Rica.
Numerous expeditions have searched for the treasure horde over the years. While no major finds have been made, several coins and pieces of jewelry discovered on Cocos Island are thought to have originated from the Treasure of Lima, giving hope that more of it lies hidden.
Whygrene’s Treasure
Bernard Whygrene was the quartermaster on the famous 1681-1682 pirate voyage led by Bartholomew Sharp across the Pacific. Whygrene split from the other buccaneers in Mexico and sailed to the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile, where he buried his personal share of the plundered Spanish riches worth about $2 million.
In 1844, a British captain discovered Whygrene’s treasure by chance. He eventually sold off the gold and silver coins, with some of the coins dispersing into private collections. A few genuine coins from the stash are known to still exist.
Famous Lost Treasures That Haven’t Been Found
While some pirate treasures have been recovered, many more legendary troves remain stubbornly elusive. Here are a few of the most famous lost pirate treasures yet to be discovered:
Flor de la Mar Treasure
The Flor do Mar was a massive Portuguese carrack that sank in a storm off Sumatra in 1511 while carrying an immense cargo of treasures seized from Malacca. The trove is estimated to be worth around $2 billion today and includes gold, silver, precious stones, religious ornaments and other artifacts. Despite numerous searches, the Flor do Mar has not been found.
Thomas Tew’s Treasure
Thomas Tew was an English pirate who operated in the Red Sea in 1690s. After capturing an enormous prize—a Mughal treasure ship loaded with gold and silver—Tew headed to St. Mary’s Island off Madagascar. Legend has it he buried his plunder of precious metals and jewels there. To date, no trace of Tew’s bounty has ever been found on St. Mary’s Island.
Gasparilla’s Treasure
Jose Gaspar, better known as Gasparilla, was supposedly a notorious Spanish pirate who raided the Gulf Coast of Florida in early 1800s. As per legend, he accumulated an immense hoard of stolen treasure, which he buried somewhere on Florida’s Captiva Island or nearby barrier islands and keys. Despite many expeditions combing the area, the treasure has remained undiscovered.
Treasure of Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte was a French pirate who operated around New Orleans and Galveston in early 1800s. Before his death in the 1820s, tales spread that Lafitte buried a vast treasure somewhere along coastal Louisiana, likely in the swamps near New Orleans. No credible sign of his elusive treasure has ever been found.
Why Has So Little Pirate Treasure Been Discovered?
If pirates buried so much plundered wealth, why has so little been recovered over the centuries? There are several reasons most of the supposed pirate booty still remains lost:
– Deliberate Misdirection – Pirates wanting to secure their buried loot would leave false traces to mislead any potential followers from discovering the real location.
– Remote Location – To prevent their treasures from being easily spotted, pirates would often bury them on remote, uninhabited islands and coasts difficult to get to.
– Lack of Records – Pirates by nature didn’t keep logs or maps of where they buried their stolen riches. The secret locations frequently died with those originally involved.
– Inaccurate Information – Tales passed down through generations grow more dubious with each retelling, sending treasure hunters on wild goose chases.
– Harsh Conditions – Natural elements over decades or centuries have likely buried, submerged or swept away many pirate stashes.
– Pirate Subterfuge – Crafty pirates would sometimes ditch heavy treasure overboard if being pursued to allow a quicker getaway.
Famous Pirates Who Buried Treasure
While Captain Kidd, Blackbeard and others feature in treasure tales, they were far from the only pirates who built up and hid away vast fortunes. Here are a few other notorious buccaneers strongly associated with buried pirate loot:
Henry Every
Also known as John Avery, Henry Every pulled off one of piracy’s most lucrative heists by capturing a Mughal treasure ship in 1695 worth over $400 million in today’s money. Though he eluded capture, what became of Every and his vast riches is unknown.
Bartholomew Roberts
Called Black Bart, Bartholomew Roberts was one of history’s most successful pirates, having plundered over 400 ships. It’s believed he buried caches of his loot on islands in the Caribbean before his death in a battle in 1722.
Edward Low
A renowned figure in the “Golden Age of Piracy”, Edward Low amassed a sizable fortune pillaging ships and towns up and down the Americas in early 1700s. Stories say he buried some of his ill-gotten gains on islands off the coast of New England before disappearing from historical records.
Calico Jack Rackham
John “Calico Jack” Rackham and his crew are known to have buried four treasure troves in the Bahamas after robbing a string of ships in 1720. Despite several major searches, only one of Calico Jack’s four stashes is believed to have ever been found.
Roberto Cofresi
A 19th century pirate operating out of Puerto Rico, Cofresi allegedly buried treasures across islands in the Caribbean. Treasure hunters over the decades have supposedly uncovered a few scattered coins linked to Cofresi, but no major find.
Famous Treasure Islands
While pirate treasure has been buried in spots across the globe, certain islands feature heavily in treasure lore for supposedly hiding troves of pirate loot. Here are some of the most famous “treasure islands” continuously searched for buried pirate booty:
| Island | Location | Treasure Lore |
|---|---|---|
| Oak Island | Nova Scotia, Canada | Purported to hide a buried treasure pit of incredible riches, excavations have uncovered tantalizing but inconclusive evidence dating back centuries. |
| Madagascar | Off the coast of Africa | A notorious pirate haven, tales abound of Captain Kidd and others burying hoards of loot at spots around the island. |
| Île Sainte-Marie | Northeast coast of Madagascar | This island was rumored to be where Captain Kidd buried his fabled treasure, leading to intensive excavations in the 1920s that uncovered pirate artifacts but no gold. |
| Cocos Island | Off Costa Rica’s Pacific coast | Heavily associated with the “Treasure of Lima”, Cocos Island has been dug over extensively by treasure hunters with minimal success. |
| Andros Island | Bahamas | Said to be where the notorious pirate Henry Jennings buried tons of Spanish gold and silver in the early 1700s. |
Legality of Keeping Found Treasure
What is the legality around keeping pirate treasure if you are fortunate enough to uncover some? Legislation and precedents vary depending on where the treasure is found:
– In international waters, the law of finds generally applies, allowing you to stake a claim and keep the treasure if no original owner comes forward.
– For shipwrecked treasure, the law of salvage often grants the discoverer exclusive rights to recover artifacts, but typically awards at least some portion to other stakeholders like insurers.
– On land, buried treasure is generally treated as a trove and may legally belong to the owner of the property, not the finder.
– In some cases, governments can claim ownership of artifacts as part of cultural heritage laws. Museums may also make legal cases to acquire pieces.
– Illegally pillaged artifacts may need to be repatriated to the country of origin.
– Sales of recovered treasure are usually subject to taxes and import/export regulations when crossing borders.
– The legal standing of centuries-old pirate plunder discovered today remains a complex gray area. But finders likely won’t be walking away with the full loot.
Major Treasure Hunting Expeditions
The allure of discovering pirate treasure has fueled many expensive expeditions over the past century. Here are a few of the most famous, lavish efforts that came up empty-handed:
Treasure Island, Largo Bay, Portugal – 1914
Excavations on this island off Portugal’s southern coast in search of lost Moorish and pirate treasure cost millions and were fronted by a syndicate of rich British businessmen and a Hollywood film studio. Despite sinking vast sums into the dig, they found little except hard rock.
Oak Island, Nova Scotia – 1937
An industrialist named Gilbert Hedden funded this major excavation project on Nova Scotia’s Oak Island in hopes of cracking the mystery of a buried pirate treasure there. After digging fruitlessly for six years, he finally gave up when no treasure was found.
Riches of Calico Jack – 1984
Motivated by legends of Calico Jack Rackham’s buried treasure in the Bahamas, a deep-pocketed American named Burl Ives (not the actor) spent over $1 million dynamiting the seafloor and dredging areas near Island Harbour Cay. But he found no pirate gold.
Flor de la Mar – 2005
The Malaysian government backed an expedition by a UK exploration firm to find the wreck of the Flor de la Mar and its vast cargo off Sumatra. Despite high-tech surveys and submersible dives, the project failed to locate the ancient treasure ship.
Notable Treasure Hunters
The continuing fascination with lost pirate treasure has spawned many larger-than-life personalities who devote their lives to the search. Here are a few of the most famous pirate treasure hunters and eccentrics obsessed with discoveries of buried pirate gold:
– **Robert Louis Stevenson** – The famous author of Treasure Island was said to be obsessed with the Oak Island money pit legend. He travelled to Nova Scotia in 1911 to personally investigate the site.
– **Edgar Cayce** – The renowned American mystic believed that treasures from Atlantis were buried off Bimini island in the Bahamas. He undertook explorations there in the 1930s based on his prophetic visions.
– **Robert Marx** – A daring diver and pioneer of underwater archaeology, Marx led high-profile salvage expeditions for shipwrecks and treasures across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in the 1950s-60s.
– **Norman Scott** – Known as the “real Indiana Jones”, Scott travelled the world in the 1980s-90s hunting for mythical treasures, including pirate loot on islands like Oak Island and Cocos Island.
– **Robert Clifford** – An American engineer who undertook extensive but fruitless digging expeditions across the Bahamas and Oak Island in the 1960s-70s looking for buried pirate gold.
Pirate Treasure In Pop Culture
Legends of lost pirate treasure have been a staple of popular culture for well over a century, continuing to capture public imagination. Famous depictions include:
– **Treasure Island (1881 novel)** – Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic pirate adventure story that helped define treasure island tropes. It featured locales like Captain Flint’s buried treasure and Skeleton Island.
– **Long John Silver (1881)** – The iconic pirate character from Treasure Island whose lust for finding Flint’s buried treasure drives the story. He defined pirate stereotypes.
– **Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968 film)** – A Disney comedy featuring the ghost of Blackbeard the pirate haunting an inn on the Carolina coast where he supposedly buried his treasure.
– **The Goonies (1985 film)** – A group of kids go hunting for pirate One Eyed-Willy’s treasure in this classic film featuring clues, traps and treasure maps.
– **Pirates of the Caribbean (2003 film)** – Disney’s blockbuster featured cursed Aztec gold coins and Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow hunting for treasure.
– **Uncharted (video game series)** – This gaming franchise stars Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter travelling the globe in search of lost pirate gold and artifacts.
Conclusion
To this day, no one knows how many hidden treasures accumulated by pirates over the centuries still await discovery in secret locations around the world. The few lucky finds of authentic pirate plunder provide tantalizing proof that more are out there. While buried pirate treasure may be mostly the stuff of myth and legend, it continues to inspire the adventurer in all of us. The lure of finding a glittering pirate horde hidden away will likely motivate explorers and treasure hunters well into the future.