What is Treasure Hunting?

Treasure hunting is a rather contagious pastime. For some, it can become an
obsession (in the best sense of the word!). People worldwide are fascinated with the hobby of treasure hunting.

Coming across a valuable item in your treasure hunt can be a real thrill. Even an
item that may not have monetary value could be personally attractive to the right hunter.Part of the thrill is in the chase; not knowing what you may find lends a sense of mystery and intrigue to the treasure hunt.

In years past, a treasure hunt could have been a very dangerous quest. Pirating
was rampant, with several competitive and devious hunters often after the same prize. Quite often, the myth or rumor of a valuable buried or sunken treasure led to bloodshed and fighting between hunters.

Before airplanes became the preferred method of worldwide travel, those in
search of life in a new land would travel by ship to their new destination. As it could take months to sail from one continent to another, passengers were unsure if they would even return to their home land. They would pack up all of their worldly possessions to take with them to the ‘new world’. One might pack several trunks of furs, coins, jewelry, dishware, and other valuable goods to take with them to their new life.

These ships laden with valuable items were prime targets for pirates.
Ships were always on the look out for pirates that may try to board and rob, or
even kill, the passengers onboard. While this high seas robbery is certainly not
called treasure hunting, it demonstrates just how vulnerable these ‘treasures’ were. People traveling away from home were not only vulnerable to theft while sailing; these pirates had no qualms about robbing a ship after a natural disaster struck.

Ships sailing far from home had to endure terrible storms, barrier reefs,
extremely high waves and more as they slowly made their way from one point to the next. Unfortunately, many ships succumbed to the dangers they faced, and sank.

Before GPS and radio, it was really anyone’s guess where they ship may have gone down. Tales and fables would develop about the location of the sunken ship and its possible contents. For example, if a royal family member or businessman was on board, one might assume that quite a bit of valuable merchandise sank with the ship.

If the ship was not immediately located, an air of mystery would develop around
the tale as it was passed down through generations of curious people. Those will the
resources and desire would undoubtedly go in search of the ship in an effort to recover some of the ‘treasures’ on board. These expeditions were treasure hunts in the truest sense of the word!

A treasure may also be something that a person unfortunately lost. Of course, if
you find a valuable item, you should make every attempt to return it to its rightful owner. But in most cases, the owner is never found, leaving the treasure hunter as the new owner. We’ll discuss great places to find this kind of treasure a little later on, but some items that you could expect to come across include watches, rings, coins, or necklaces.

Other treasures may have been worthless when they were disposed of, but have
now become so rare or desirable that they have increased in value. Arrowheads from battles past; carvings; certain stones, etc can all prove to be valuable finds.

Before there were designated garbage dumps, unwanted items were often buried or simply thrown into the bush. Over time, these items were long forgotten. However, finding a rare dish, for example, that can be traced to a certain crafter or era could be a real treasure.

Some treasures may have absolutely no monetary value at all, but could be very
sentimentally valuable to the right person. Old family photos, a favorite teddy bear, or a letter from your first love would all be great treasures to find. It would rare to stumble across a sentimental treasure unless you were specifically looking for it, but it can happen!

Whatever your reason for treasure hunting; whatever you are searching for, you
are sure to find a few surprises along the way! Treasure hunting is truly a hobby for anyone to enjoy.