Pirate Capt Kidd's 'treasure' found in Madagascar

So after all these years of people searching from New York to New Delhi it appears it was where they least expected it...still on his Ship..

Cant wait until they get into that hole in the ship and see what other Booty is to be found..

Underwater explorers in Madagascar say they have discovered treasure belonging to the notorious 17th-Century Scottish pirate William Kidd. A 50kg (7st 9lb) silver bar was brought to shore on Thursday on the island of Sainte Marie, from what is thought to be the wreck of the Adventure Galley. The bar was presented to Madagascar's president at a special ceremony. US explorer Barry Clifford says he believes there are many more such bars still in the wreck. Capt Kidd was first appointed by the British authorities to tackle piracy but later became a ruthless criminal and was executed in 1701.

Pirate Capt Kidd's 'treasure' found in Madagascar

Ship salvage takes big bucks, it's a big operation, but if you do your homework and with a wee bit of luck the wealth when you hit the mother load can run into the 100's of million of £££££££££.. Best of luck to them, but no doubt if this find is in that 100's of millions bracket they will have a fight on their hands for ownership of the goodies from the deep.

a reply to: Soloprotocol

Capt Kidd was first appointed by the British authorities to tackle piracy but later became a ruthless criminal and was executed in 1701.

Why am I not surprised?

The Silver Bar that nearly cracked Barry clifford on the head when the floor with the pile of ballast collapsed from above him..(I can only assume the ship may be upside down)..

Here you can see the Bar now laying on top of the Ballast.

originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: Soloprotocol

Capt Kidd was first appointed by the British authorities to tackle piracy but later became a ruthless criminal and was executed in 1701.

Why am I not surprised?

Maybe he was on Minimum wage or worse...Workfare...

Seriously, No doubt after "legally" raiding French and Spanish ships left right and centre and then having to hand over all that lovely gold and silver to the Government and Monarch at the time... at some point he must have thought, Stuff this..I'm going self employed.

I love treasure finds. I really enjoy seeing all tat shiny treasure after it has surfaced and been cleaned up. MMmmm, treeeeasuuure.....

a reply to: Soloprotocol

It makes me wonder what the modern equivalent might be, maybe DEA teams?

originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: Soloprotocol

It makes me wonder what the modern equivalent might be, maybe DEA teams?

Probably Inland Revenue or the US equivalent the IRS...Maybe you are correct though, he in the UK we have what is called, The proceeds of crime act, Basically, the Government can watch you amass vast wealth and assets through illegal means..ie, Drugs, Money laundering etc, then convict you of said crime, then take it all off you...hey, saves them the donkey work.

As far as I could tell from reading, he only found that one bar of silver. That can't be the
silver and gold mentioned in the article. It would just be pocket change compared to that.
If he does find millions, the government will probably take half of it anyway.

originally posted by: toms54
As far as I could tell from reading, he only found that one bar of silver. That can't be the
silver and gold mentioned in the article. It would just be pocket change compared to that.
If he does find millions, the government will probably take half of it anyway.

I heard an interview on the Radio this morning. They have still a lot of ballast to remove.

They went over it with metal detectors and were getting hits. The guy said he cant see why Kidd would only have one of those Bars on board, as he liberated quite a bit from the captured ship that it came from....The Radio Interview was more informative.

YARRRRRRRRR!!!!

50kg booty bar of silver? Now thats what i call a cool treasure find, this is the sort of thing that makes learning to scuba all the more tempting of a skill to learn.

a reply to: Soloprotocol

Yes, we are trying to abolish civil forfeiture which is a systematized form of piracy here in the USA though, in truth, it is actually just simple extortion and theft.

The funny thing about this is the location of his ship has been known for years,
The guy who found the treasure even spent time digging in and around Islands in the States because of local myth. It seems no-one looked in the obvious place.
It makes sense that a thief back in the day would never leave his booty anywhere but under his bed.

a reply to: Soloprotocol

I am amazed that being a Scot he even contemplated handing anything over to the crown/Revenue. I suspect I would have gone self-employed well before he did. I live by Poole Harbour on the south coast and the local pirates that layed anchor around the harbour's islands hated the crown and revenue, why another nation or Captain Kidd should want to contribute is way beyond me.

If he was smart, he would have kept enough for a good pension for himself and his crew, and let the government have the rest. Slowly replacing the ballast with silver bars and booty would seem a simple way of hiding stuff, or maybe keeping stashes somewhere central - but then how do you make sure no-one else finds your stash?

So its not on Oak island then.

originally posted by: stormcell
but then how do you make sure no-one else finds your stash?

You Kill everyone who helped you stash it
My main worry would be getting back safely to collect it...Just look at how many ships back in those days are at the bottom of the ocean...the Bay where Kidd's ship is located has another 16 pirate ship in that same area.

originally posted by: lucagt1
So its not on Oak island then.

No, the guy who found it search Oak Island as a Kid...Not as a Kidd..as a Kid/Child/Jnr Treasure hunter.

originally posted by: Shiloh7
a reply to: Soloprotocol

I am amazed that being a Scot he even contemplated handing anything over to the crown/Revenue.

What you trying to say here....us Scots are a bunch of untrustworthy thieving bastards.. ?

POsted earlier here
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thread closed.