Charles Kenworthy

[Randy Bradford]

I've been reading a lot of Charles Kenworthy's books lately, gotta love the power of Interlibrary Loan. I'm struck a bit by his material, mostly because it goes "against the grain" compared to a lot of traditional writers, particularly with regards to his interpretation of Spanish treasure symbolism. Like so many of his kind, Kenworthy has proven to be a source of immense frustration because he constantly refers to other books, materials, etc. but CITES NO REFERENCES. It's hard to track a man's work or follow up on statements he's made when he fails to provide the most basic of research tools, but I digress.

Having said this, I'm curious what the general opinion on Kenworthy and his contributions to treasure hunting are. Is he well received within the THing community or do most people think he was simply a hack peddling books. For that matter, what success did he himself have as a treasure hunter? Did his work yield tangible results that are verifiable? Just curious overall how treasure hunters perceive the man and his body of work.

 

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[Old Dog]

I have read Kenworth's books , but I don't place too much creeddence in what other hunters write.
I haven't had these books around for a long time , they were a fun read but are of no help to me as far as the hunting I am doing.

Thom

 

[Springfield]

I have read Kenworth's books , but I don't place too much creeddence in what other hunters write.
I haven't had these books around for a long time , they were a fun read but are of no help to me as far as the hunting I am doing.

Thom

A lot of people stake all their knowledge of 'Spanish signs' on these books - you know, the Royal trails, etc. These books are OK, I guess, no better or worse than all the others available, but IMO you'll never figure this stuff out from information in the public domain. I would say this series of books falls into the 'Entertainment' catagory, along with 99% of all other published TH lore. Was Kenworthy a successful TH-er? Who knows? He was a successful bookseller - we know that for sure.

 

[Old Dog]

Springfield is right,

Treasure is where you find it, and Kenwothy found his after he wrote a successful book.
We do know that he chased all over this end of the country and had a lot of fun doing it.
that to me in itself is treasure.

Thom

 

[Ecominer]

Maybe Kenworthy's books are entertainment for some, and unreliable for others. Anything you read you need to take with a grain of salt.

I have had Kenworthy's books for years, and have found them quite valuable, as well as having saved my life a number of times before I really knew what to look for. As a matter of fact, without his death symbols and traps information I wouldn't be writing this today.

The thing you need to remember when looking for symbols and their interpretation is that books and pictures were not carried by the engineers or artist that created these symbols. Nearly all have their own interpretation and create symbols that may have a variety of purposes. I have been looking at a symbol for 12 years that I finally interpreted this year after many long trips and work in the mountains.

If you read your books, and have an idea what to look for, you definitely have a better opportunity of finding a trail to treasure than just wandering around looking for a buried mine that you read about in a story..


I'm sure there are better experts around than I am, but I wish you the best in what ever method you use!

 

[Randy Bradford]

Just curious, I was under the impression that Mr. Kenworthy had passed away...am I incorrect on this point?

I was also curious, as a prolific writer, can anyone confirm whether or not Kenworthy ever had a significant treasure find?

 

[Corporate Investigations]

As a historian I rather find information from various sources than rely solely on a single source especially authors on treasure hunting. While there is always some info to be gained from them most in the end is just razzle dazzle to sell books.

If anything they are a entertaining read but should not be taken word for word.

Corp