Josh Gates Explores Rare Pirate Treasure | Expedition Unknown | Discovery

Yes, look at that. Oh my word, that is pure gold!

In the lab of the Widow Museum, Explorer Barry Clifford’s team is opening a concretion from the fabled pirate ship that has already produced silver coins and now solid gold as well.

Barry, what do you think?

What’s that?

Way 3 or 4… 3 or 4 ounces of pure gold! Yeah, that’s $10,000 worth of gold right there. I mean, that’s outrageous.

So, let’s talk about this concretion, because it’s really strange, right? We have all of these different coins, these pistols, parts of a pipe, glass, gold ingots—all in this incredibly compact space. What is this, do you think?

In archaeology, we call this an “assemblage,” which means an assortment of artifacts that are all closely in one spot. We are getting organic material… Oh, look at that. Is that like fiber?

Yeah, fiber. It’s definitely organic. It might be hemp or burlap.

And so, Barry, what does that tell you? All of these coins side by side, beside a rum bottle, beside a smoking pipe, beside a big chunk of gold… did they all fall into the ocean and happen to land on each other?

Right? No, the math says they were in something. The Pirates said the money was kept in bags in chests between decks.

So, what you’re saying is this could be a pirate’s share, a pirate’s bag of treasure?

This is definitely, 100%, a pirate’s share of treasure.

So, if that’s true, that is a one-of-a-kind find. There’s nothing like it in the world. We’re holding the personal belongings of a pirate—his foot locker.

Since these bags were likely stored in the stern hold, it’s our first indication that we might have been in the vicinity of the Wida’s fabled stern castle.

And it isn’t just valuable monetarily. Historically, this find speaks volumes. There are all of these stories about Bellamy, as you know— not this bloodthirsty pirate, but this egalitarian, kind of democratic leader.

And seeing how rich this share is really backs that idea up—that these pirates were doing well out there.

Yeah, even more remarkable is that the pirate’s share also applied to the former slaves who were fully vested members of Bellamy’s crew. A shocking display of equality in a most unexpected place.

A third of the Wida’s crew were of African origin, most of whom were former slaves.

Right, this is not a story I remember learning in school. Black pirates were experimenting in democracy with Europeans 50 years before George Washington began his experiment.

When you see this as a single pirate share, how does it make you think of Bellamy, the man?

I have a lot of respect for Bellamy, and I often go down to the cliffs and talk to him.

Yeah? Does he talk back?

This is talking back right here. This is a pirate’s share of treasure. Pirates’ hell, these coins—thousands of coins and gold. But the real treasure of the Wida is the story.

This is precious, precious history that we’ve uncovered here, and Brandon and all of our crew have dedicated their lives to preserving this history and bringing it to light.