Look at me! I'm new here.

[InkingHubris]

I have been excited about treasure hunting since I was old enough to know what treasure is. I admit my own personal expeditions have been small fruitless and very limited to say the least. I have never owned a metal detector, even though I asked for one every Christmas since I was 7 years old. 35+ years later, life laughs at me for trying.

I have spent over a decade writing, researching and breaking codes. It's what I do mainly. I make a living as a writer and I dabble in mythical treasure hunts (albeit usually from the computer). I am more interested in legends than actual treasures as I find the stories enthralling.

I tend to play devils advocate until I can no longer deny it and then I put effort into locating said treasure. To date, I have solved many cryptic clues that have lead to treasure and have not once found it for myself. Oh well, most of the fun is in the journey, right?

Anyway, perhaps one day I will get a detector and go out looking for myself.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Welcome to the forum from White Plains, NY! Growing up in the desert southwest of Arizona, I read about medieval times in England and Scotland, and wondered about lost treasures there. I grew up gold prospecting in the mountains with my Dad, but always pictured myself as a Knight, searching for long lost gold in the Scottish Highlands, or the mountain streams of Wales.

 

[InkingHubris]

I've only been in England for about 7 months. I will be returning to the US shortly. Then back again.

 

[RustyGold]

Welcome to TNet! Interesting name.
Best of luck!

 

[InkingHubris]

Thanks. Interesting place. I'm having a look around.

 

[digging440yrs]

Welcome aboard

 

[Wildcat1750]

Welcome to TNet from Nick in CT!

 

[vpnavy]

Welcome Aboard!

 

[against the wind]

Welcome to Tnet from NYC

 

[bootybandit]

Welcome to TNET!

 

[InkingHubris]

Thanks guys, I am learning a lot looking around here.

 

[Enginefitter]

Welcome from NE Ohio.

Engine

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Welcome to the forum from Massachusetts - USA! GL & HH

 

[miboje]

Welcome. Interesting story. What kind of codes have you cracked that have led to treasure, and why are you not the one to find it?

 

[InkingHubris]

Welcome. Interesting story. What kind of codes have you cracked that have led to treasure, and why are you not the one to find it?

It is quite an interesting story. Started in the military where I was not a code breaker. I was a radio operator. I found codes and broke them in my spare time (enemy and ally communications mostly). After I was a civilian again I continued to find codes to crack, which led to puzzles and websites about them (I won't name any for reasons of competition, ha!) I then created my own which quickly became the largest and most popular puzzle site online, in it's heyday.

My main interest is in writing and I have travelled that road more than any other, but writing doesn't pay the bills for a long while, so I spent my time in surveillance and learning all I could. Through research and odd jobs and my history of code breaking I would find various puzzles (such as Fenn's poem, Kryptos, the Beale Papers, etc) and work on them. I didn't care about the treasure so much as I couldn't physically get to it and felt that anyone I shared the solve with would then go get it and say it wasn't there and then I would be stuck on the puzzle again.

I never made public anything that I have solved that leads to monumental riches, but smaller ones, personal ones, contest ones, etc etc I would solve and then find a member of that search that I thought was deserving and send them the solve and method. On more than one occasion the person I did this for ended up finding the loot, solving the game or whatever it happened to be.

Now as I get older I have more time and more resources since I don't technically have to "work" and have decided that along with my writing I would get back into the actual hunt of physical things. Although I still get more joy from solving the puzzle than actually looking for it. I want to get a metal detector and hit the beaches, just to have something to do while I tan. (If that's possible on the beaches of England)

To shorten the answer to your question though, nothing serious like the lost crown jewels or anything of that nature, just small caches or unsolved local legends. I think, monetarily, the largest I have ever solved that was verified was about $3000 USD.

 

[miboje]

Thanks for sharing that, IH. A code breaker I am not, but I do thoroughly enjoying learning about Spanish and KGC signs and symbols, and, who knows, I could get lucky someday. Even if I don't find anything of great value it is still a ton of fun, and I am outside in the fresh air exploring, expanding my horizons, and letting the problems of my life go by the wayside, and THAT ALONE is a cache! LOL.

 

[InkingHubris]

Thrill of the hunt, as they say. The ending is just a bonus.

 

[kingskid1611]

Welcome to the party. Sounds like a blast doing what you do. In writing its getting the reader to feel they are part of the story and right there. Getting a metal detector is a good idea but not a necessity to hunt. Good Luck and Happy Hunting

 

[Blak bart]

Check out the pirate "la buse" he had a code to break to find his treasure. That would be an amazing one to solve. Oliver la buse died with a lot of missing treasure, including the flaming cross of goa. He threw a coded parchment to the crowd before he was hanged. He claimed whoever solved it could find his loot.

 

[InkingHubris]

Hey Blak bart, the problem with La Buse is it is all speculation. The original one has been decoded and is basically a recipe for a cough medicine, and the second one that surfaced (the one he supposedly threw before being hung) was shown to be a part of The Gold Bug puzzle by Poe, with drawings from a 20th century artist. Everything leads to it just being a legend with code and maps made later to add credence. There is no evidence to suggest anything about it is real, even the tale of how it came to be.