1853 – The steamboat Winfield Scott, loaded with gold miners and over two million dollars worth of gold ran aground on the rocks off Frenchy Cove on Anacapa Island, California. Individual, privately-minted gold coins and nuggets have been found by divers among the rocks near the wrecksite, most likely lost by the passengers that were aboard Winfield Scott. The shipwreck lies under 25-30 feet of water and is today protected by California and US law, which makes it illegal to remove anything from the wreckage. That doesn’t stop anyone from finding gold outside of the wrecksite though.
That’s not the only treasure to be found on Anacapa Island though. There’s countless of caves along the shore of the island, which is said to have been used by early pirates as a base of operations. A number of pirate treasures is said to be buried on the island that has never been recovered. The caves has also been used by smugglers as a hiding place for goods and money and it is believed that they also left caches behind that await today’s treasure hunter.
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