Treasures of the Eastern Shore

A fascination with lost treasures has been a part of folklore since the beginning of time, and modern-day adventurers still go out in search of treasures great and small. In this well-written book, the author, a founding member of The Shore Seekers Artifact and Recovery Club in Maryland, combines interesting facts and legends about treasure hunting on the eastern shores of the United States.

Every seeker dreams of pirate treasure, and Nunez’s first treasure-hunting experience took him and a friend to the site of an old mansion in Dorchester County, Maryland, about which stories told of buried gold. “It didn’t take much urging to grab my detector and head for his car. Gold sounded great to me.”

In Nunez’s opinion, treasure hunting is as much about history as discovery. He describes incidents of Americans hiding from British attacks during the Revolutionary War and taking their valuables with them. Piecing together this history helps the treasure-seeker pinpoint where to look for artifacts. It also enhances the hunting experience. In that old mansion in Dorchester, Nunez discovers a steep staircase and follows it up to a small attic room. Remembering his research, he wonders if this was once an escape route from the British: “Was I standing on the spot where a Henry calmly put a bullet through an advancing Redcoat?”

Even more intriguing are stories such as the one about the treasure of the infamous murderer Patty Cannon, considered by some to be cursed. There are also stories of shipwrecks off the coast. “One of my favorites was called the ‘China Wreck’ not because it was Chinese, since actually it was of Italian registry,” explains the author, “but because numerous pieces of crockery and pottery washed up after the wreck.”

Nunez graduated from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with an art degree and works for the State of Maryland. He is editor of the military simulation magazine Against the Odds, for which he also writes a continuing column on elite combat units. He has written an array of pastiches based on the soap opera Dark Shadows and the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and has had stories published in Lost Treasure, Western and Eastern Treasures, Inside the Old House, and Tales from the Shadows.

This volume is available in several different downloadable eBook formats from the publisher’s website and in softcover from most online bookstores. Written in a relaxed, anecdotal style, the book offers history and legend alongside plenty of tips for novice hunters about where to look for treasure, what equipment to take along, and a few basic rules, which include getting permission to search on public and private land. That information, along with the enticing stories of treasures found, just might stir a few adventurous spirits.

Reviewed by Maryann Miller

Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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