Six Questions with H. Charles Beil: The TreasureMan Hiding Treasures YOU Can Find

H.Charles Beil is an Historical Archaeologist. He received a Bachelor Degree in History from Duquesne University in 1982; studied historical geology, archeology and oceanography under Skinner and other world renowned geologists, archeologists and scientists, and has been an avid treasure hunter for nearly 50 years.

He’s published numerous articles on the subjects of treasure hunting, metal detecting and ghost towns and has been a frequent researcher in the tiny historical societies, large libraries and museums all along the Eastern Seaboard and the Mid-Atlantic States. More than an historian, his finds are in museums and personal collections throughout the country. He is a larger than life “Indiana Jones”.

He owns the website TreasueIllustrated and is known as the TreasureMan.  He is hiding treasures for YOU to find all across the states.  I had the pleasure of asking him the following Six Questions about this exciting endeavor.  Read on and learn more on how you can get involved and hunt for TreasureMan’s hidden treasures!

Six Questions:

• 1Q) Thanks so much for this opportunity, TreasureMan! Can you tell us a bit more about what has inspired you to hide treasures for others to find?  What are you enjoying most about going out and secreting caches?

As an historical archeologist I research history. What I have come to understand is that most treasure legends are simply fabricated stories created by various authors to sell books and magazines. I have seen men set upon epic quests for things that never existed and think that it is a terrible thing to waste so many individual’s time in this manner. I also understand and appreciate the thrill of adventure , the excitement that comes with finding a treasure and all of the benefits of engaging in wholesome outdoor activity. Having been a treasure hunter for fifty years and experiencing the thrill and rewards that the field has to offer I’ve decided to give back and allow others to have the same experience by burying treasures today.

The thing that I enjoy most about secreting caches is the people that I meet along the way; to hear their stories and to be able to offer to them a search for a treasure that truly exists and is attainable. I recently had the opportunity to spend the weekend with a young man with autism. We hid a new treasure together and the treasure story that I will write will honor this fellow by allowing him to be the central character in the story. It’s also thrilling when you answer the phone and the caller is screaming with excitement that they just found one of my treasures.

• 2Q) How many treasures are out there waiting for searchers to discover?  What do your caches contain and where do the items placed in the caches originate?  Are they items you have found or collected over the years?

There are currently eleven caches out there waiting to be found. The caches contain coins from all over the world, cut and raw gemstones, jewelry, silver coins and bars and gold; almost anything that you can imagine of value such as antique pocket watches, arrowheads, masonic items and other collectable fraternity jewelry. Some of the items are things that I have recovered over my career others are things that I have collected. One cache contains a gold cross that measures nearly 12” tall with 6 emeralds that are valued at about $3,000 each. I created this cross as my interpretation of the Cross of Coronado.   (update: https://mysteriouswritings.com/the-treasure-man-h-charles-beil-hidden-caches/ )

• 3Q) Have any of the treasures you’ve hidden so far been discovered?  When hiding a cache, what are your expectations for them being found? Do you feel they will be found quickly or that it could take years?

Yes, two of my treasures have been found. My first treasure of 27 lbs. of Gold, Silver, Gems, Jewelry and coins buried in Pennsylvania and called the Wolf Run Cache was discovered after 10 months of searching by a father and son. The Missouri treasure named the Jesse James Cache was found by a retired police officer. The story was fascinating on how he discovered it using his training in law enforcement.

Originally I didn’t expect my treasures to be found, at least not easily. I thought that I hid them well and that they would be my legacy a hundred years from now. However, people are very clever in how they go about searching and I discovered that it’s as much a thrill for me as it is for them whenever one is discovered.

I rate my treasures on a five skull system with one skull being easy and five skulls being difficult terrain and potential environmental hazards such as venomous snakes, wildlife, cliffs or water hazards. Some are in very remote areas.  I have many caches out there that have been there for years although I know of groups searching for them that have walked right by them so I would expect that they will be found at some point.

• 4Q) How can a searcher get involved in your hunts, and what type of clues do you leave behind for them to find a cache?  Are there any dangers to the hunts to be aware of?

To get involved in a treasure hunt an individual simply needs to register at the Treasure Illustrated website and download the free books that contain all of the clues. By registering it unlocks a secret forum that contains everything about my treasures. If a person isn’t registered they cannot see the forum. The Treasure Illustrated Forums also provide a place for the hunters to network together and share their experiences of their treasure hunts.

UPDATED:  Simply needs to follow him in the TreasureMan Treasure Illustrated Facebook Group or they are also on the MW Forum.

If you use commonsense then the danger in hunting my treasures is minimal. I would suggest that hunters remain aware of their environment as I have seen rattlesnakes, bears and coyotes in some areas. I would never place a treasure where it is inherently dangerous. While I am an experienced rock climber and diver I will never tempt a hunter to climb a cliff or dive into deep or moving water. It is important for hunters to know their limitations and I’m always forthcoming with information when questioned. If in doubt a hunter can message me. I won’t mislead them. After-all if one of my treasures is found it is one more validation of what I am doing.

• 5Q) As an active treasure hunter yourself, what do you enjoy most about exploring?  What would you say are some of your most memorable finds?

Nothing has the allure of treasure, secret things from secret places. The hunt is the adventure in all of this. Once you find what you’ve been searching for and the rush of adrenaline is over it is very anticlimactic. The most enjoyable thing for me is to be outdoors, experiencing the seasons, the landscapes and Mother Nature’s handiwork; meeting people and seeing the wildlife up close. I’ve been within 10 feet of full grown elk.

My most memorable finds are certain abandoned gold mines, a vein of silver and spectacular ghost towns that lie hidden miles into the forests. Personal items and material culture that speak to the people that they belonged to; that tell a story of the homestead or forgotten town, monogrammed items, glassware and love tokens that can be traced to a particular individual are what I most value. To get to know a person who lived a hundred or two hundred years ago and then find their gravesite in an abandoned cemetery and take the time to clean up around it. To hold a relic that you know a certain individual owned, cherished and held and to recall their name when everyone else has forgotten them is what makes a find memorable to me.

• 6Q) For someone new interested in getting involved in metal detecting or treasure hunting, what advice would you give them?  What do you feel is the best way to get started?  What are some of the best ways to conduct research and learn the best spot to metal detect or explore?

For someone new to treasure hunting my advice would be to just get out there and do it. Don’t worry about your equipment and gear, use what you have available. It doesn’t take sophisticated equipment to locate dumps and privies where 200 year old bottles lie that may be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. Team up with an experienced hunter willing to take you under their wing and teach you what they know. Read everything that you can on the type of treasure hunting that you’d like to do. Do you want to hunt ghost towns, battlefields, shipwrecks, abandoned inner-city houses, urban parks or old swimming holes? There’s something for everyone in this field, find your niche.

The best way to get started is to begin talking to people and to read. Older folks are a valuable resource to the treasure hunter and generally love to talk about their history and the old places that are no longer there. Deer hunters are in the woods. They see the foundations of old structures. Read primary source materials, diaries and journals. I was reading a Revolutionary War officers journal and he talked about passing an abandoned Indian Fort as they marched through the forest; that is a lead to a treasure hunt.

History is right under our feet and you never know what you might find in the most inexplicable places. No site is ever hunted out and as long as people are visiting a site things will continue to be lost. The Internet is your best resource today to finding places to metal detect. Online archives of historical maps and newspapers, books and journals, aerial photographs and lidar scans exist making our job as treasure hunters much easier. At the Treasure Illustrated Forums I catalog all of these resources making it even easier for metal detectorists to find the information that they need.

This is awesome, TreasureMan!  Thanks for offering others the chance to search for hidden treasure! And not just one, but many!  How exciting to hear about secret caches scattered out there to discover. 

I love the history you weave into your treasure hunt stories. They encourage not only looking for your treasures, but learning about a hidden past.  Like you mention, it should be remembered that although finding a lost treasure is a thrill, the journey and experiences learned along the way of discovery brings treasures all in itself. 

Thanks again for providing the opportunity to set off on an adventure and participating in MW’s Six Questions.  For those interested in joining the fun, check out HCharlesBeil’s facebook group.

Plus, discussion sections for the hunts have been added to the MW Forum, and I’ll be researching them myself, so will be doing some write-ups for posting on the MW Website.  You can join us there too, and please feel free to sign up for the MW Newsletter for updates.

And one more thing:

Catch H. Charles Beil’s answer to ‘What is the Best Metal Detector’ in Six Questions with Six Avid Metal Detectorists!

Treasures await for you to find!

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