And I thought you might recognize the surfer dude. Bet he’s not so tan anymore… probably looks more like a polar bear.

@James- Cool information, thanks for the post! What is it about treasure and mysterious black boxes that sparks the imagination? Makes me want to go out on my own expedition! I guess I’ll just have to settle and watch Indiana Jones again instead.

31. The Wreck of the Golden Gate Treasure Archive, San Francisco, CA 1931-1932

This is a rare archive from a salvage attempt in 1931 to 1932 and provides details not known before.

The wreck of the Golden Gate in 1862 has long been one of the most sought after wrecks in history for the treasure she reportedly held. A whopping $1.4 million was reported lost, plus the personal fortunes held by private passengers. Through time, the rumors and stories have grown, so that today the treasure is reported as worth millions, which to this day remains lost to the sea.

Background

The Golden Gate sank 300 yards off the coast of Manzanillo, Mexico in 1862. Many passengers and crew died in the horrible wreck. A detailed, well researched and written story of the sinking, salvage and loss was published by Andrew Czernek on the Internet. The archive was recently discovered consisting of about thirty letters, documents, photographs and treasure maps. It details a salvage attempt in 1931 that lasted until at least 1932. A series of letters and information from an investigation into past salvage efforts of the Golden Gate revealed that the majority of the gold treasure was salvaged by representatives of the insurance companies, and some by various local divers. Rumors remained however, for nearly a century that there were millions in gold still awaiting discovery on the bottom of the sea. These rumors persist to this day.

The Golden Gate Archive

Primarily Mining Engineer Charles Pouliot, who spearheaded efforts at the recovery, wrote this archive. At the same time, Pouliot was endeavoring to find another treasure on land known as the Pedro El Negro, which was a treasure placed deep in caves by bandits who had robbed Spanish bullion shipments. The archive is complete with at least two different treasure maps of the El Negro treasure and much on the Golden Gate. Pouliot raised money during the depth of the Depression a few dollars at a time for his treasure quests.

Pouliot was excited by the use of what today might be known as a “black box” scientific device that showed the location of treasure. Was this an early form of a geophysical device? Research by the company in January 1932 revealed that of the $1.4 million lost on sinking in 1862, $1.2 million was salvaged by early 1863. Later that year, another $333,000 was salvaged. Once this knowledge was learned, the treasure hunting effort fizzled, and efforts turned to other treasures. This is a very choice archive containing detailed information about real treasure searches with suspect results of efforts after August 1932. It includes a number of certificates reflecting subscription. None of this has been previously published to our knowledge. No photograph. $7,500.