Wrecka: There are many fine books about salvaging sunken treasure. Successful land recoveries haven't gotten as much press. There is the classic by A. Hyatt Verill "They Found Gold! The Story of Successful Treasure Hunts." Rio Grande published a trade paperback reprint several years ago. A personal favorite - because the author and publisher saw the same void you perceived - is "Empty Money Pits; Or, Texas Treasure Finds" by the late, great Ed Bartholomew (writing under his own name - he usually used "Jesse (Ed) Rascoe" for his treasure books. Now, many of his excellent works include stories of treasure finds but this entire work is devoted to that subject. And there is a great deal to be learned from these accounts. KvonM included many examples in his "Treasure Hunter's Manuals #6" and "#7," in "Sudden Wealth" and there are countless examples in his first-rate "Encyclopedia of Buried Treasure Hunting."
Many people contend we learn more from failure than from success. I suggest that depends on what is being studied and who is doing the studying. One of the problems is that folks tend to confuse brains with a bull market. Luck always plays a major role. Personally, however, I think the careful examination of success is under-rated - after all, isn't that what we want to duplicate?
Good luck to all,
The Old Bookaroo