Gold Treasure Chests – Fact or Fiction?

Archaeologists and members of the public alike are going to extreme measures to find hidden treasures nowadays. They’re diving deeper, traveling further and digging longer than ever before. More people are interested in ancient sites. New technological advancements are allowing more and more people to search for caches, loots, hoards and other buried treasures. And now, more and more fictional stories of pirates searching for buried treasure are being produced, sending the treasure hunters on a wild craze.

We all know very well that buried treasure exists, and in various forms. We’ve seen some pretty remarkable discoveries in recent years that back that up. But do gold treasure chests like the ones we hear about in the movies really exist? Are there really buried treasure chests at the sea shore?

One thing is certain – we all like to think so! Check out this hilarious video.

Are Buried Treasure Chests Real Or Not?

Answer: Although the concept of buried gold treasure chests has been greatly fictionalized by Hollywood, they are nonetheless real. In 1965, the “1715 Nueva Espana Fleet” treasure chest was recovered, providing a true portrayal of the functional treasure chest. There’s an actual authenticated treasure chest on display at the Pirate Soul Museum in St. Augustine, FL! You can check it out for yourself. Buried treasure chests are real.

Don’t believe everything you hear, however. Do you have any idea how heavy gold is? Some of the gold treasure chests found in the movies today are so big that it would be all but impossible to transport them if they were filled with gold!

Some (not all) pirates really buried treasure with the intention of returning to recovering it through the use of treasure maps. Contrary to popular assumption, we only know of a few historical accounts of this really happening.

More frequently, average people will hide their valuables underground in tin cans, glass jars, cloth sacks or whatever to be retrieved during a time of need. Sometimes the people who hide these precious items die and their valuables become lost. These hidden valuables are considered a hoard or a cache, and they are being found all over the country by treasure hunters.

There’s a difference between buried treasure and a hoard, and it’s important not to mix them up when referring to every-day treasure hunting to avoid confusion with pirate treasure.

One thing’s for sure, if you do happen to stumble across a buried treasure chest, you are an extremely lucky person. Only a few actual buried treasure chests have ever been recovered, but they do exist! Just not as many as Hollywood would have you think!