05x02 - Dead Man's Chest

Episode transcripts for the TV show "The Curse of Oak Island". Aired: January 5, 2014 to present.*
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Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.
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05x02 - Dead Man's Chest

Post by bunniefuu »

Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...

If there's something
to be found in the Money Pit,

- we'll find it.
- Hey, Rick.

That is interesting.

We're trying to figure
out how old it is.

Well, this is from the s.

- Could be a lot older.
- Wow.

Ooh!

That's a good hit.

We found something
that will blow 'em away.

This is great!

I have Captain James
Anderson's sea chest.

Like a treasure chest?
Is this it here?

That's the baby. -Holy crap.
Look at that thing.

There is an island in
the North Atlantic...

where people have been looking
for an incredible treasure

for more than years.

So far they have found
bits of gold chain,

a stone slab with strange
symbols carved into it,

even a th century
Spanish coin.

To date, six men have d*ed
trying to solve the mystery.

And according to legend,

one more will have to die,

before the treasure
can be found.

It is the beginning
of an exciting new day

on Oak Island...

as brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina...

Along with their team...

Are about to begin their first
big project of the summer:

An extensive drilling
operation that will

pinpoint the exact location
of the original Money Pit.

So, you really believe
in three weeks, Rick?

- All will be revealed?
- I think, you know,

if everything went perfect,
in days we will find

the one significant thing.

Look, Rick, I mean you and I
disagree sometimes but

I'm so on board with drilling
everything you want to drill.

We're singularly focused
on the Money Pit this year.

I always felt like
the Money Pit was where it began

and the Money Pit is probably
where it will end.

Because the exact location

of the original Money Pit
shaft has been lost over time,

finding it has proved
more difficult...

And more expensive...

Than Rick and Marty Lagina
could ever have imagined.

Last year, the team spent

more than $ million
excavating four

inchwide shafts,

which, they hoped,
would narrow their search.

Digging down to depths
of approximately feet,

they made a series of
important discoveries...

particularly in the socalled
spoils excavated from

their fourth and final shaft
of last summer... GAL .

- Ooh.
- What the heck is that?

Come on. Whoa!

Last week...

while resuming his search
of the GAL spoils,

metal detection expert,
Gary Drayton,

and members of the team made
another eyeopening find.

Wow.

What that is, that's an old,
handforged nail.

- This could dip into the s.
- If we can verify that,

I'm holding a piece of
the original Money Pit.

Now, using the GAL dig site

as a center point
of reference...

Rick, Marty and the team
are about to employ

what is called
"The Geotech System."

If successful,

it will confirm the Money Pit's
exact location...

Once and for all.

Okay. Let's put
these guys to work.

- Ready to make some hole?
- Yeah.

Where do you
want to start, Kyle?

I think we're going to start
in here and work our way out.

So, point to the first hole.

Start in here.

"The Geotech System"
will involve the drilling

of approximately sixinch wide

holes in a grid pattern down
to depths of up to feet.

I am a strong proponent
of the Geotech grid

from a strategy standpoint.

It's scientific,
it's methodical,

I am convinced it's
the right thing to do.

Here we go.

Look, I think we've rounded to
a pretty proper grid and if...

And I won't say if there's
something to be found...

But when it's found,
it will be within the grid.

Rick has spent a lot
of time out here already,

laying out a grid

that is going to make it
virtually impossible

to miss the original works
there,

if they still exist.

We're going to drill
how many holes?

- , right now.
- Yeah, holes.

I think we've all rallied
around this idea

that if there's something
to be found in the Money Pit,

and I truly believe there is,

we'll find it.

During the drilling process,

the team will also be
obtaining core samples.

These will help them...

Not only in their search
for the location

of the original treasure shaft...

But also locate valuable clues...

And perhaps bits of treasure
buried down below.

While the Geotech drilling
operation gets under way...

Rick, Marty and Craig Tester
make their way

approximately miles
northeast,

to Saint Mary's University
in the city of Halifax.

They have arranged
to have the iron spike

found in the GAL spoils
scientifically tested.

If, as they hope,

the spike can be dated
to before ...

The year when the Money Pit
was first discovered...

Then the spike may have
been used in the Money Pit's

original construction.

I believe this is her office.

- Yes. I see the lab coats.
- Yep. Hello.

- Hello, Christa. Hello.
- Hi.

- Nice to see you again.
- How are you?

- Welcome back.
- Thank you.

- How are you doing?
- Hello, Christa.

Dr. Christa Brosseau

is an Associate Professor
of Chemistry.

She is also considered to be
one of Canada's leading experts

in the study of metals and
their chemical compositions.

Um, and this is it here.

What we're trying to do
is figure out how old it is.

Okay.

All right, it looks like you've
already had a section taken,

- yeah?
- Yeah.

Okay.

So, we can sample
that section directly. -Okay.

Let's go test out the spike.

Let's go check it out.
Head downstairs.

Great. Okay, let's go
find out what it is.

The hope, of course,
is that it dates very,

very early, presearcher
and that with, um, certainty.

That's the hope.

Working with her colleague,

- Dr. Sean Yang...
- Hi, Dr. Yang.

Dr. Brosseau will examine

the spike using a highpowered
Scanning Electron Microscope.

So, we're going
to look at the, spike.

The microscope
will generate images

of the spike's surface

that are tens of thousands
of times their actual size.

Based on composition
and morphology,

how definite can you date this,
to what kind of timeline?

So, right,
so there's a few markers.

So, in the metal itself,
one of the things

we want to look for is
from the s onwards,

metals like nickel,

molybdenum were added
into iron objects.

One of the things we want
to look for is manganese,

'cause it's one of the best
elemental markers.

Generally if you see
between point two

and one percent manganese

in a steel,
then it's likely post s.

And, so if we see
any of those elements,

then that would generally
be an indication

it is a modern iron object.

Okay, well let'slet's see what
we've got here. -We'll see.

Okay. -So what we'll do
is we'll zoom in

and we'll look at what
is the elemental makeup

of those darker strings
that you see.

So they look to be
the stringers of slag

so the reason they're sort of

strung out like this is
'cause they would of sort of

hammered the metal to try
and get rid of that,

and so they would have kind
of gotten squished.

Right, but that is one
of those dark streaks

that's been magnified?

Yeah, looks to be.

So % iron,

% carbon, that's very typical.
No maganese.

- No manganese.
- That's good. -That's good.

So, it's a pretty
good indication

at this point that's
it's an early iron.

I mean, if we knew
this piece was from the s,

would... could you
look at it and say,

- "Yes, I mean..."
- It's consistent with that.

It's consistent with that.

Yeah, I would say
there's nothing here

that indicates it
couldn't be at least,

that I see from the analysis,
that it couldn't be a lot older.

If we knew this piece
was from the s...

could you look at it
and say, "Yes, I mean",

- "it's consistent with that."
- It's consistent with that.

- Could you say that?
- Yeah,

I would say it looks to me to
be consistent with that. -Okay.

There's nothing here that is
a flag for a modern iron.

At Saint Mary's
University in Halifax,

Rick Lagina,
his brother, Marty...

and their friend and business
partner, Craig Tester...

have just received astounding
news concerning the metal spike

they found last week
in the GAL spoils.

Right. And no sulfur
would indicate that your...

Right, so no sulfur indicates
likely it was smelted

with charcoal so that is also
an earlier time date.

Okay. -Fossil fuels became
very common in the s.

- It's intriguing.
- It's old.

- Okay, so it's also consistent,
- Yeah.

What you showed us and you're
seeing that same thing.

So, we have slag.
We don't have manganese.

We've got relatively pure iron.

- No sulfur.
- No sulfur.

Those three things showing up
are not inconsistent,

I know that's a double negative,
but are not inconsistent

- with something even much older.
- In my opinion, yes.

- In your opinion.
- Yeah.

Well that's all good stuff,
I mean, you know,

it's almost as good
as you can get.

- Wow.
- So, looks good.

The data comes back.

Basically, that spike is
probably hundreds of years old.

Several hundreds of years old.

If it is prior to the s,
then that's the thing

I keep looking for.

'Cause people in the island
years ago is one thing.

People on the island
underground years

before the discovery of
the Money Pit

is really the definitive thing.

Well, doctors, that's excellent,

that's great data,
it's intriguing,

the composition of the spike.
We want to thank you very much.

It's a pleasure. Thank you.

You're welcome.
Thanks for coming by.

After their breakthrough trip

to Saint Mary's University...

Hi, how you doing?

Rick, Marty
and Charles Barkhouse

return to the Money Pit

to check on the progress

of the Geotech drilling
operation.

So, there's the three holes,
that's the fence that way.

These are the three we've done?

Yeah, yeah, here.

As each borehole
in the Geotech grid

is drilled, the cuttings...

Or spoils... are carefully
searched by hand.

This will allow the team

to know if the holes they are
drilling are finding evidence

of underground structures...
Or possible treasure.

Terry Matheson is
a local geologist.

We hired him to do what we
would call, "mud logging."

In this case,
he's gonna watch the cuttings.

He's gonna describe them,
and bag them every five feet.

He's gonna basically
take the geologic sciences

that he is proficient in,

and use them to analyze
our scientific,

drilling array.

Once bedrock is reached

at approximately feet,

each Geotech hole is cased
with plastic piping.

This is done to prevent
the holes from collapsing.

It will also allow for
a metal detecting device

to later scan each hole
for possible metal artifacts.

Okay. Let's let them get
down hole,

start collecting samples.

Yeah, yeah, I got to get at her.
All right.

Nice talking to you.

To help them search
the Geotech spoils by hand,

the team from Brewster Drilling
has set up what is called,

"a shaker table,"

a device which literally
shakes the soil free

from bits of important
evidence or artifacts.

Hey, Rick.

That's what you're getting
mixed in with the cuttings.

Old and new.

- That's old.
- Maybe just burnt?

Almost looks like charcoal.

Yeah, that's what
I was going to say.

Hey, look at that.

Almost like charcoal.
That's strange.

Yeah, that looks burnt.

He's at .

Charcoal?

Has the team already
found important evidence

of ancient manmade workings...

More than feet underground?

Before the th century,

miners would employ a method
known as "the chimney effect."

This involved burning
wood and coal deep

within the shaft in order
to force smoke up and out,

and fresh air down and in.

Did the Oak Island team
just discover evidence

of this ancient mining technique

being used on Oak Island?

Possibly in the construction
of the original Money Pit?

The other possible connection

is the early description
of the Money Pit,

and removing the log layers
every ten feet,

that several of them
had charcoal.

Might that be a connection?
Perhaps.

What the hell's it doing
down in bedrock?

- I don't know.
- Eyes and boots.

- Eyes and boots.
- Well, I'll bag it.

See what the, see what the next
feet comes up with.

Yeah, keep drilling.

As far as Rick,

Marty and the Oak Island team
are concerned,

the Geotech operation
is going smoothly

and according to plan.

The fact that we have made
some finds and we have a much

better understanding
of the underground,

we will be successful.

Whoa!

Whoa!

Whoa!

Whoa!

While drilling one of
the exploratory boreholes

in search of
the original Money Pit,

a torrent of water has started
gushing out of nearby borehole,

the same borehole
where the team found

a mysterious goldcolored
object two years ago.

Wow.

Yeah.
That's what I was afraid of.

Did the team
from Brewster Drilling

just penetrate

one of the infamous
boobytrapped flood tunnels?

Or is there another...

Even more intriguing
explanation?

All of a sudden,
we get a giant geyser

from one of the wells
that we were drilling.

So, the first thing
you're sure of

is that we've got very
solid communication,

between those two holes.
We're pumping air down one,

it's coming out the other.

If the two holes
are communicating...

Or, in some way, connected...
Does this mean Rick,

Marty and the team have found
a natural underground link

between the Money Pit and C ?

Unfortunately
for the Oak Island team,

the expl*si*n of water coming
from deep

within borehole C means
that plans to send a diver

down to the bottom of the shaft
will have to be put on hold.

The churned silt and
debris could take weeks,

or even months to settle...

Making visibility... even
with hightech equipment...

Virtually impossible.

Look at, it's all communicated,

I mean, we're pretty
sure of that.

Although the team has
suffered a temporary setback,

the fact that
the Geotech drill hole

and the C shaft are
interlinked could offer proof

that a network of flood tunnels

really does lie deep
beneath the surface.

It's just so Oak Island.
A little piece of something.

But what does it mean?
Got questions.

Doug.

- Hi, Doug.
- Hey, Doug.

Good to see you, everybody.

Later that day...

Rick, Marty, and members
of the team gather

at the Mug & Anchor Pub
in the nearby town

of Mahone Bay.

They have been invited
by their friend,

local historian, Doug Crowell...
Who is eager

to share what he believes is
some important information.

Good to see you, Doug.
Where have you been? Been well?

I've been well, I've been well.

Spending a lot of
time in the archives.

What have you got for us?

Well, one of the things
I was following up on

over the winter was, um...

your work on Lot

and finding the coins
and various artifacts.

So, I thought I'd take
a look at lot ownership

and see what activity
might have preceded Sam Ball's

purchase of those lots.

- Holy smokes.
- Look at these.

Wow. All in one spot?

Yup.

Last year, while
searching an area of Oak Island

once owned by Samuel Ball...

A former th century
American sl*ve...

Turned British loyalist...

the team found a number
of British coins, buttons,

and other artifacts...

All dating from
the and s.

Wow, Gary.
s, that changes a lot.

They're not supposed to be here.

There's so much stuff here,

I think this is
an encampment or a camp.

One of the things
I found was that Lot

was owned by
a Captain James Anderson

and this fella's history turned
out to be really interesting.

He was a privateer

and when the American Revolution
started,

he took the patriot oath,

was given command of a ship,
defected to the British,

took the ship and all
and went across the lines,

became a loyalist privateer.

Although his story
is not well known,

Captain James Anderson
was believed to be

from Baltimore, Maryland.

According to historical records,

he was a pirate and privateer...

Before pledging his loyalty
to the United States

during the American Revolution
in the late s.

But after being given
command of an American ship,

he then defected
to the British...

And was later charged with
high treason and piracy

by thenVirginiaGovernor...

And future American President...
Thomas Jefferson.

According to reports,

Anderson soon fled
to Canada where he

purchased Lot on
Oak Island and lived there

until .

He did die in the West Indies
in

just after the
discovery of the Money Pit.

- What was he doing there?
- I suspect privateering.

Well, what I did find out was
that there is still a descendant

of his here in Nova Scotia.

And he's agreed to talk
with us and tell us

a little more about his family.

So I thought it might
be interesting to see

if there's any information

in the family that might
help us on the search.

- Yeah, well worth a look, yeah.
- Yeah.

The Captain Anderson
investigation is interesting

because it shows, once again,

the colorful history
of this bloody little island.

If we can get something
from his descendants,

more about this fellow,
it could be a clue.

If Oak Island
tells you anything,

this island is all
about the "what ifs"

and the possibilities.
You have to follow every lead.

I think we should run it down.

- Alex?
- Sure.

Look, the information hunt
to me has always been the most

intriguing part of this and you
know,

the young minds should go
as far as I'm concerned.

You know, you guys
can puzzle it out.

Look, I know one thing,
he's not going.

I mean, you, you'd fall
asleep in five minutes, so...

This is every bit an information
hunt as much as treasure hunt

and I find it fascinating,
absolutely fascinating.

We'll see where it goes.

Let's go , , Rick.

on the treasure, on the.

To success.

- To the hunt.
- Cheers.

Did Captain James Anderson

bury a portion of his
treasure on Oak Island...

More than years ago?

And could finding evidence of it

really be the key to solving
the Oak Island mystery?

All right, then,
more work to do.

Coming up...

As a new day begins...

and as Rick Lagina
and Dave Blankenship

continue to oversee the
Geotech drilling operation

in the Money Pit area
on Oak Island...

Alex Lagina, Peter Fornetti,

and Charles Barkhouse...

Along with researcher
Doug Crowell...

travel some miles north
to the city of Wolfville,

Nova Scotia.

They are on their way
to meet a descendant

of Captain James Anderson...

The th century pirate
who once owned property

on Oak Island.

I mean, the main thing that
sticks out to me is the fact

that he's on the island prior
to the discovery

of the Money Pit.

So, you know, what's the odds
that this guy was involved in

the actual placing
the treasure there?

Or, if he got word

of the treasure being there and
was looking.

Or that he knows something,
yeah. -

It's kind of an
intriguing thought.

I'm hoping we're going
to get some information

that maybe will be of some use
to us on the hunt.

One of the things we know
about Captain Anderson is

that he was a privateer.
He was active in the area.

So, what we're hoping for
is any evidence of actual

treasure on Oak Island.

Good day, sir.

- Hello.
- How ya doin?

- Hey, you Steve?
- Yes.

- Doug Crowell.
- Nice to meet you, Doug.

Steve, thanks for taking the time.
No problem.

You guys want to come
in for a chat and sit?

- Absolutely.
- That'd be great. -Come on in.

Thanks, Doug.

Take a seat there,
anywhere you want to. -Okay.

Thank you.

Well, Steve, what brought us
to look you up was:

Lot was owned by James Anderson.
Correct.

And according to this
record here, it was sold

to Samuel Ball in .

And what we're hoping
to do is learn a little bit more

about the background
of James Anderson.

And there's always
been a question

of how Samuel Ball
came to the area.

Yeah. -I wonder if he knew
James Anderson a long time ago?

Could he possibly have
sailed with him at one time?

And maybe some secrets
spilled out?

Born into sl*very
in South Carolina in ,

Samuel Ball won his freedom
by fighting for the British

during the American Revolution.

After the w*r, he fled
to Canada where...

In ... he was reported
to be living on Oak Island

as a simple cabbage farmer.

But, by the time of
his death in ...

Samuel Ball had mysteriously...
And inexplicably...

Become one of the wealthiest
men in Nova Scotia.

Could he... as many suspect...

Have found a portion of
the Oak Island treasure?

And, if so,

could the treasure have
originally been buried there...

By Captain James Anderson?

Samuel Ball bought Lot

the year before he bought
Lot from James Anderson.

So we're hoping you can
fill us in

a little bit more
on the history.

- Okay. Well...
- Thanks.

He was a mariner.

And he was both pirate and spy.

And he had a ship
that was called The Betsy.

And there is record

of him sailing the waters,
I think in .

So, that puts it back
a bit before .

So, he's been around for
a while in the waters, right?

- Was quite a character.
- Yeah,

that's a very good way to
describe him, yeah.

I can show you guys more things.

I have Captain James Anderson's
sea chest.

Sea chest?
Like a treasure chest?

Yeah, just like
a treasure chest.

We would love to see that.
That would be a first for us.

A treasure chest?

Yeah, we'll give you a hand
with that.

All right. Thank you.

One that belonged
to an th century privateer...

Who once owned property
on Oak Island?

Just through here
in the next room.

- Is this it here?
- That's the baby. -Wow!

Holy crap! Look at that thing.

- Look at this.
- Coming up...

- Wow.
- What do you think, guys?


Yeah. Check this thing out.

Alex Lagina

and members of the Oak Island
team are visiting the home

of Steve Atkinson...

A direct descendant of
the th century pirate,

Captain James Anderson...

Okay. Who wants to do
the honors of opening it?

- Alex?
- Sure. Yeah, love to.

- Here you go.
- Okay.

They have just been
shown an incredible artifact:

A wooden chest once
owned by Captain Anderson,

and that has been passed down

though the Atkinson family
for generations.

This is so cool.

I think this is it. I feel
something happening. -Wow.

Wow. -Now, in this chest
right here...

You'll find some documents
you're gonna like.

We open up the chest
and we see a couple of older,

smaller chests inside and
a bunch of old documents.

So, I'm pretty excited by that.

The papers are
extremely delicate.

- d*ed, July .
- Exactly.

One year after the discovery
of the Money Pit. -

Here we go.

"To all whom it may concern,
we do hereby certify

"that brother James Anderson is
a registered master Mason

in the Lodge number nine."

- Master Mason.
- That's right.

"Given under our hand
and seal of our lodge

this th of June ."

- Definitely a Mason.
- Definitely a Mason, yeah.

Captain James Anderson...

a Mason? A member of a society
of master builders...

Living on Oak Island
during the years

before the Money Pit was
first discovered in ?

With ancient ties to everything
from the Knights Templar...

to the Illuminati, Masons...

Also known as Freemasons...

Enjoy a unique status
in the history of Oak Island.

Prominent treasure hunters,
Frederick Blair

and M.R. Chappell were members...

As was future U.S. President,
Franklin D. Roosevelt.

One of the symbols
of Freemasonry

is the letter "G,"
which is usually depicted

in the center of a triangle...

And both the letter "G" and the
triangle have been found carved

on numerous objects both
in and around Oak Island.

That's quite
an amazing document.

Now, this one's a little bit
better penmanship, I think,

for us to read.
And it's pretty cool.

Lay that one out there
and see if you can...

This says, "In consideration of"

"the sum of pounds,
shillings sterling

"paid me by James Anderson.

"The said sum being the
amount of a bottomry

bond on the schooner Betsy."

So, is this the purchase,
for lack of a better word,

- of The Betsy?
- The Betsy, I would say.

In , it was purchased
by James Anderson

- and presumably then taken here.
- Yeah.

Was the Betsy,
was that his privateer ship?

- I do believe so.
- Amazing.

Did Captain James Anderson...

A privateer and pirate operating

in the waters off Nova Scotia...

Bring his ship,
The Betsy to Oak Island?

I found something!

And, if so,
could this be the source

of the evidence of
an ancient ship...

Recently found at the bottom
of the Oak Island swamp?

It may be a ship's plank.

Now, all those keys
he has in his hand.

- Can I see them for a sec?
- Sure.

That one opens
that treasure chest.

Maybe some other ones, could
be...

I couldn't help
noticing there are four keys.

Could there have been more
treasure chests on the island?

That's what I wonder.

Could the three keys be,

in some way, connected
to the three treasure chests...

Which were reportedly
found by Daniel McGinnis

and his two friends
while digging

in the original Money Pit?

Grandpa Daniel, he and his two
friends started digging.

Now, I've been told they
found three treasure chests.

And what is in this box
is one of the things

- that came from that chest.
- Wow.

Thanks so much for letting us
take a look at this.

I mean, this...

Honestly, it's like nothing
we've seen before. So...

You've shown us some great
information right here.

- So, thank you.
- You're very welcome, guys.

The next morning...

as the Geotech operation
continues at the Money Pit...

metal detection
expert Gary Drayton...

Along with Peter Fornetti
and Jack Begley...

begin searching for new clues

at the area known
as Isaac's Point...

Located on the eastern
side of the island.

I fancy going out to the point
and doing around the bluffs.

They've had a couple
of big storms here.

There might be some erosion
down that side.

And it might have
pulled stuff away?

Yeah. That's what I'm hoping
for.

- Got you. All right.
- Yeah, let's go.

One of the first things
I was told

when I walked onto the island,

was that there'd been
a couple of bad storms,

and there'd been
some beach erosion.

That makes your toes tingle
because

when the banks are eroded,

anything that was in those
banks is now on the beach.

Look at this erosion.
That tree is hanging out.

Let me have a little scan
along this bank.

- This is sweet.
- Careful.

Ooh!

It says, "six inches."

That looks like a good hit, too.

- Yeah, it's like a...
- Bronze, something like that?

I'm not sure what it is.

It's tough because
my coil's on an angle.

So, it's somewhere in there.

Nothing like digging
higher than you.

Should we pinpoint?
See if it's out?

Yeah, seems like it's out.

Yeah, it's somewhere here.

A musket ball!

That's cool.

That's still old.
Let's have a look.

Good find.

A musket ball?

Over the years it has
been well documented

that the islands of Mahone Bay,

in Nova Scotia were considered
strategic outposts

for the British m*llitary
during the American w*r

for independence.

Last year,
while searching Lot ,

on the western side
of the island,

Gary Drayton found a number
of coins and other artifacts

that suggested Oak Island
had once been the site

of a m*llitary encampment.

This is an ingot, a lead ingot
for making musket balls.

Well, that'sthat's cool,
I mean, this is, you know,

- pre s.
- Yeah. Great.

It's old, that's for sure.

And it goes in
the good finds pouch.

I always like finding
a musket ball.

But this is sweet,

if we can find one thing,
we should be able to find more.

I mean, I hate to say it,
but, you know,

the more erosion, the better.

I'm getting a signal here.

Nah, it's jumpy.
But, it's hard to tell.

Once you start putting
these search coils at an angle,

you know, it's...
You get wonky readings.

- Depth check.
- All right.

- See if I was in the right area.
- Let me have a pinpoint.

Might be out,
it just might be surface junk.

- I hope not.
- Me, too.

Might have fallen, yeah.

Don't keep us in suspense.

It's part of a coin!

Wow...

That's a cut coin.

I bet you this is
a cut Maravedi.

This is great!

On the eastern point
of Oak Island...

metal detection expert,
Gary Drayton,

has just made a potentially
important discovery.

You see the angle
on both sides here?

- That was cut on purpose.
- For making change, right?

Yeah, making change.

Often deemed "The
First Coins of the New World,"

the Maravedi was
a Spanishmade copper coin

that was primarily used
by explorers

who came to the Americas during
the th and th centuries.

They were also often
used by pirates

of various nationalities
as payment for crewmembers...

And were commonly
cut into pieces

when it was necessary
to make change

or make an advance
on a purchase.

It was a th century Spanish
Maravedi

that was found
in the Oak Island swamp

nearly four years ago.

Could finding another one add
even more fuel to the notion

that pirates had frequented
the island more than a century

before it was used as a campsite

by the British m*llitary?

Definitely have to
have this cleaned up. -Yeah.

You think we should call my uncles?
Yeah, for sure.

Yeah? -Yeah. We've actually
found something

that will blow them away.

- Hello?
- Hello, Rick.

- Yeah, Gary.
- We have got some good news.

Of the surface finds we've had,

the Maravedis have proven to be
the oldest coins we've found,

and they're the best information
that someone was here,

back in the midtolate s.

You're gonna love this, Rick.

All right. What you got?

Well, you're always
telling me to find stuff...

- Yes.
- This time we found stuff.

- What do you got?
- What we got, we got a,

an interesting musket ball
to start with.

Yeah. -So someone was up here
with a musket,

ball got stuck in
the musket barrel,

pulled it out
and just dropped it.

This is great, Gary,
but there's no,

- no way to date this, right?
- No, it's...

That's what we're looking for,
man.

Yeah, we're looking for
something with a date on it.

- Um...
- Let's see.

This didn't even make the pouch.

This is a top pocket find.

And you think that is...

That is a cut Maravedi.

- And that's an oldie.
- Yeah.

Wait, when you say "old,"
what do you mean?

I got no doubt that's... s,

you might even be in the 's.

And look at the way
it's been cut;

You can see it's been
basically chiseled off.

Yeah, yeah. It looks like it
was done intentionally,

that's for sure.
I agree with you,

that isn't worn away.
That's cut.

Yeah.

We need to do some
research on that,

- when they quit cutting coins.
- Yeah.

And the reason why this
is in such good condition,

is because it was in the soil,

it's had no contact
with saltwater.

We might get lucky.

This might be the part
with the date on it.

- With the date on it.
- Yeah.

Gold would be great,
and it's always exciting,

but the date
is super significant.

Yeah. No doubt this is old.

I mean, there was
these Maravedis were copper,

and then you had silver reales
and then gold escudos. -Right.

So maybe we're working
our way up slowly. -Yeah.

Gary being turned loose
and finding stuff right away,

underscores the importance of
doing this metal detecting.

If he can go out there and find
this stuff reasonably quickly,

then there's probably
a lot of it.

We got to get that
cleaned and tested.

Yup.

That's fantastic,
but still no gold dance?

No, no gold dance,
but that had me wiggling.

- All right, good. Keep going.
- Yeah.

We've only just begun.

Yeah, Gary, all right!

For brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina,

the discovery of yet
another Spanish coin

gives hope that the many stories

and legends of pirates
coming to Oak Island...

And burying a vast
treasure here...

Could very well be true.

Although their current season
on the island

has only just begun,

they are encouraged by the many
discoveries they and members

of their team have made
so far this year:

- A rose head spike...
- That is sweet.

- A pirate chest...
- Look at this. -Wow.

And now, another Spanish coin...

But as their Geotech search

for the elusive Oak Island
Money Pit continues...

an even more important
mystery lies before them.

What if they find
what they're looking for?

What then?

Will it be everything
they hoped it would be?

Or will it be something
so fearful...

So disturbing...

That it would have been best
to let it lie buried...

deep beneath the ground?

Next time
on The Curse of Oak Island...

It's a coin!

- Holy smokes.
- s.

- This is really cool.
- I've never seen you so excited.

It means something!

Here's hard evidence
people were on this island

years before the discovery
of the Money Pit.

The drill bar is stuck.

We've hit an obstruction.

This is so serious.

This is the first step

to shutting down
the whole island.
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