Pirate treasures

[BDSC]

Hey Rick, will you be at the museum when it opens the display? Didn't know if you would be doing any presentations.

 

[nautilusvideo]

I'm not sure yet what the plan is. If things go well there will at least be a couple of displays with new video from the site.

 

[BDSC]

I'll keep watching for an update.

Thanks

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Jim as the project videographer on the Blackbeard Shipwreck Project I'd like to extend a personal invitation to you to visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum (North Carolina Maritime Museum - Homepage) in Beaufort and see the Blackbeard exhibit. For 11 years archaeologists, historians, conservators and volunteers have have been diving on and recovering artifacts from Blackbeard's flagship the Queen Anne's Revenge (The Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project - Archaeological Investigations of Blackbeard's Flagship) for public display in the museum. Visitors can see these treasures, including what's left of his gold, free of charge and learn about Blackbeard the pirate and his ship. Also, the North Carolina Museum of History will open the exhibit "Knights of the Black Flag" (NC Museum of History: What's Going On - Press Releases) next month which will include the most recent discoveries from the wreck site. And if you would like to see video clips from the actual wreck site visit (http://www.nautilusproductions.com/new_site/QAR1_footage.htm). We look forward to seeing you in North Carolina!

I would love to do this! I have no issues whatsoever with this kind of setup. As I see it this was a totally different animal from what some of the Odyssey expeditions run into. The QAR is shallow and the recovery effort is allowing the public to be involved. Many of the Odyssey finds are beyond the skill and training of the majority of recreational divers. They involve significant risk financially, as well as to the divers. Governments and musueums only seem to get involved when the hard work is done.

Why should they decide what becomes of a wreck that was missing, forgotten, totally written off, or not even known about until the private adventurers got involved?

Governments run on greed, many museums have priceless items stored in dark vaults that will never see the light of day. If they recovered them and that's what they choose to do fine. But it should be up to the finder to determine what becomes of the find. How for instance can Spain claim rights to treasure that was gotten by crimes against humanity? They committed their own Holocaust's against countless numbers of indigenous people and still no one ever brings that up during these court cases they bring to recover their ill gotten gains that they are too lazy or incompetent to find themselves.

The Catholic church did the same. I'd really love to know how much blood money is in the vatican cellars. None of this does anyone any good. When Odyssey finds treasure it can use that to repay investors. THose investors then have more money to fund more expeditions and give JOBS to more divers and support people. The museums they open employ more people. WHat do goverments and the church do with theirs? Stash it away and use the money for programs that benefit no one. Except perhaps the priests they hide away or the mistresses and hookers of the lawmakers.

I'm glad to see that QAR is proceeding in a different direction. Allowing the artifacts to be seen. I understand preservation efforts and that those take time before the object can be displayed. But if things are so fragile that they can never be displayed perhaps they need to be allowed to fade into the dust of history?

Again thanks for the invite. I'm planning on a Carolinas trip this year. Maybe we can meet and continue this debate.

 

[Orlando Eric]

JimLap-- Here Here! I am in 100% agreement with you. I agree with the points you make and the attitude with which you make them. If you are ever come diving the Florida East Coast I'd love to split a plate of loaded nachos and some tall frosty's. We can rant about this topic with fist on the table until they throw us out.

 

[trogg]

JimLap-- Here Here! I am in 100% agreement with you. I agree with the points you make and the attitude with which you make them. If you are ever come diving the Florida East Coast I'd love to split a plate of loaded nachos and some tall frosty's. We can rant about this topic with fist on the table until they throw us out.

is this an open invite?

 

[Emperor TOM]

Captain Jack Sparrow said, "Take all you can, give nothing back." Governments steal all the time from us, so Good Luck take it all.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Keep to the Code lads! Even though it's more like a set of guidelines.

 

[Rhone Man]

Re the OP - in the British Virgin Islands we still have the common law of treasure trove (I suspect that this is also true in other British dominions like Cayman, Anguilla, etc. - it may also be true in former British colonies like Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados). What that broadly provides is that if the treasure was "lost" rather than "hidden" (pretty likely) then you would have to split it with the Government. Normal practice (if there is such a thing) is for the Government to take it all on cultural / historic grounds and then pay you half the value.

In theory all discoveries have to be reported to the Receiver of Wreck (an official office - not the customer in a used car dealership), however, in practice if it can be slipped inside a glove, it is not likely to get reported. I have never heard of anyone discovering a galleon by mistake, but I know at least one person who found a silver piece of eight. Pretty danged sure that he didn't report it.