Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Plague Telling of Money Diggers in Charleston, SC the 1830s. |
Long before the California Gold Rush, Americans were already digging for sudden wealth. These treasure hunters, often called Money Diggers, searched for coins, bullion, pirate chests, Spanish mines, and valuables supposedly hidden during wars. The practice became especially visible in the Northeast between about 1780 and 1830. It combined economic hope, local folklore, Christian belief, folk magic, and the dream that one discovery could transform a person’s life....
Charleston was an ideal setting for such stories because its pirate history was real. Piracy flourished along the South Carolina coast during the colony’s early years and again near the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. In May 1718, Blackbeard blockaded Charleston Harbor for about a week, captured ships and hostages, and demanded medical supplies. The pirate Stede Bonnet also operated in Charleston, hid on Sullivan’s Island after escaping custody, and was executed in Charleston later that year. These events placed pirates, valuable cargo, specie, secrecy, and violence inside Charleston’s living memory...
From
Money Diggers in Charleston | Chucktown ToursIn Matthew 13:44, Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
The man in the parable didn't just slyly make off with the treasure but first did what was required to make it rightfully belong to him. The purpose of the parable was not to explain treasure law: It was about the preciousness of heaven and the wisdom of being willing to give up all to obtain it. But the parable also shows that buried treasure was sought centuries ago and was a subject that the audience would understand and relate to.
Treasure hunting was talked about much farther back in time than that. It should not be surprising then, that treasure hunting was a common practice in American colonial times. On the Treasure Coast we are well aware of how the Spanish sought treasure in the New World, and how that resulted in the treasure hunting opportunities that made the Treasure Coast famous, but you might be surprised to learn of the treasure seeking mania that ran rampant in the British colonies in earlier centuries. They were often occupied with seeking Spanish or pirate treasures. That is well documented. Even Benjamin Franklin wrote about it.
Before rods were used to support metal detector coils, divining rods of hazel and other materials, were used to find treasure. Those rods are the ancestors of the dowsing rods I remember seeing advertised in the treasure magazines of just a few decades ago. Those in the treasure magazines looked very much like the one shown below. It looks more modern and technological than the forked limb of a hazel tree that was often the choice in colonial America, but the principle is much the same.
You might be surprised to learn that before the British TV series,
The Detectorists, or
Duck Family Treasure or
Curse of Oak Island, there was Washington Irving's
The Money Diggers (1825), Poe's
Gold Bug, and to go back much farther, the copper scrolls of Qumran that document the location of over sixty hidden treasures.
Before the modern Treasure Coast treasure salvors, there were Kip Wagner and Charles Higgs, who discovered beach cobs and explored the shipwreck salvage camp near the Sebastian Inlet.
Way back before the term "detectorist," which as far as I know was only widely adopted about a decade ago, "money diggers" was the common term. used to describe treasure hunters. The term "detectorist" is an excellent descriptor in some cases but perhaps not the best in others. I won't get into all of that now. I've talked about that before.
Detectorists today are very much focused on the technology, as the term suggests. Other aspects of the discipline, including things such as search strategies and techniques, often do not receive enough attention.
Treasure hunting has changed a lot over the centuries and decades in some ways but not in others. The supernatural seemed to play a larger role in colonial times. Needing some form of assistance for the difficult, if not impossible, task of fulfilling dreams, we turn to technology, where the money diggers used what we might call today superstition.
The human element remains much the same. The motives, hope, excitement and feeling of challenge and adventure remain the same. The vulnerability to myth and superstition has not disappeared. Those things have just put on another face. Our modern myths better conform to the culture and the modern mind.
As numerous as they are, our modern myths are not totally useless. Most often they contain some kernel of truth or usefulness. Benjamin Franklin's hugely successful Poor Richard's almanac provided calendars, weather forecasts, proverbs, poems, and practical advice. While not totally accurate by modern standards, it still proved useful to many. Man always fills the void with beliefs.
In previous posts I talked about some of the more common metal detecting myths. Maybe "myth" is too strong of a word here. Maybe it would be better to describe them as inaccuracies - of which there are many that are often repeated and widely accepted. I've addressed many of those before. I think I once did a post on five common metal detecting myths, but I can't find it right now.
I once read that as much as people talk about buried pirate treasures, they are actually extremely rare. The article explained the reasons they are so extremely rare despite the attention they receive.
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One example I like to use is how we previously thought of an atom as a kind of miniature universe. Electrons were thought of or described as particles, but now they are more often described as waves or fields. The old conceptualization was useful for a while but failed to adequately explain newer observations.
The way we think of things and describe them can change but the underlying reality does not. Hopefully the new concepts will work better in some way.
While treasure hunting has changed significantly over the centuries, much has remained the same. The technology, techniques and terminology have changed. Some of the myths and superstitions are different, but there are still plenty of myths and superstitions.
Seeking is human, so is the vast unknown, so mystery remains a big part of treasure hunting - a very significant part that add to its appeal. The mystery gives us space to fill with satisfying myths.
You can learn a lot by studying the long history of treasure hunting. Today I referred to some documents that you might enjoy reading in full.
This was not an easy post for me. I barely scratched the surface of several topics that could have easily gone on for many pages. I had to constantly resist getting too deep into some of my favorite topics. I plan to continue with some of the topics I just barely touched on today in future posts.
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Below is a picture of Fort Pierce South Beach as viewed Sunday evening.
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| Clip from Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Cam. |
We are having a calm surf and some very high tides. You can see the effect of the high tides in that picture.
The surf will remain small for at least a couple days.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
