Treasure Hunting in Delaware - Read or Post a Message / Question

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RELICS

Delaware is a relic hunter's paradise!  Whether you're hunting dry land or underwater, Delaware offers a rich colonial, revolutionary war, and civil war history - waiting for you to rediscover.

If you've ever thought about diving, here are a few leads for some of the many shipwreck and beach hunting sites on Delaware's coast: 

• September 1 1785, the Faithful Steward, bound from Ireland to Philadelphia with 249 passengers, ran aground near Indian River Inlet, Delaware.  Cargo was described as 400 barrels of half pennies and gold guineas.  In the 1930s, workers from the Lewes CCC camp reportedly discovered "bucket loads" of silver dollars and gold coins on the beach.  Find the beach or the CCC camp!
• October 28 1802, The Juno went down with nearly 1,000 total passengers and 23 tons of silver on board.  The last confirmed location was moving north at 33 degrees latitude along the east coast.  Two days from that position, the ship was never seen again. (Still not found)
• July 10 1864, 30 miles off the Capes of the Delaware River, the Union mail steamer Electric Spark, from New York bound for New Orleans, is scuttled by CSS Florida.
• 1864, off the Capes of the Delaware River, the Olustee sinks the bark Empress Theresa, and schooners A.J. Bird, and E.F. Lewis.

COINS & JEWELRY

For hundreds of years, the Mid-Atlantic coastline served as the busiest passage for thousands of Spanish, Danish, French English, and colonial ships.  Pirates and privateers combined with storms and shifting sand bars made this course the most hazardous in the world.  Literally hundreds of these ships are still lying on the bottom of the Delaware Bay.   

Locals say that if you just walk along the coast after a storm, you can find Spanish doubloons, coppers, pillar dollars, guineas, jewelry, pottery and other relics without a detector.  Just imagine.....having one!

Here's a few more ideas to get you started:

• Schools and College Campuses
• Parks / Playgrounds / Picnic Areas
• Foundations, Wells, and Cellar Holes of Old Churches or Houses
• Downtown Construction Sites
• Swimming Holes and Beaches
• Camp Grounds, Boy Scout Camps, and WPA / CCC Camps
• Sports Facilities
• Ghost Towns
• Riding Stables and Race Tracks
• Old Fair and Carnival Locations
• Old Town Dumpsites

LOST TREASURE

As in other areas of the US, there are several tales of lost treasure in Delaware concerning caches buried for safety.  In many of these stories, people either died or forgot where they buried the stash.  Contributing factors include:   

    1.  Federal laws making possession of gold illegal in the early 1900s

    2.  Distrust of banks during the Great Depression.