I meant treasure hunting as in the classic sense(for me at least). Things like Captain Kidds treasure, the Derrotero de Valverde, Henry Averys treasure from the Gunsway heist. And more like that
First thing to realize is that the vast majority of treasure legends are pure fiction. Many sprung out of the Great Depression when people were looking for hope, many more came from the men's and treasure magazines of the 60s and 70s where authors were paid for good treasure stories, and made them up by the hundreds. Thomas Terry's 10-volume US Treasure Atlas is often jokingly called a negative reference because it's full of those fake legends.
Do your research. If there is no verifiable contemporary evidence of the event -- if you can't reliably trace the story any further back than a 1969 issue of True Treasure -- then move on. A lot of stuff is online now so research is getting easier. If you use AI, use it with caution. I do think it does a better job with historical research than some other things. Start small, and in your immediate area so, without spending a lot on travel, you can get a feel for what it's like to convert research into actual BOTG activity, and just how hard it is to actually find treasure.
Beyond the "documented" treasures there are many many instances of completely undocumented treasures, where individuals buried treasure and never went back for it, or forgot where it was. The Great Kentucky Hoard and the Saddle Ridge Hoard are prominent examples, but a lot of farm caches (Great Depression "post hole banks") have also been found over the years. These are often found by luck, or by metal detecting Depression-era farms and homes.
Finally, there are no short-cuts. Dowsing, long range locators, auras, psychics -- they're all fake. Hunting for treasure is hard, and takes a lot of time and work.
