Code to Gold

**Code to Gold** is the 8th episode in Season 1 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Gates searches the Virginia backcountry in search of the Thomas Beale treasure. He meets up with local treasure hunters and explores a 4-mile search radius in Bedford County using a printed copy of the Declaration of Independence, believed to have hidden symbols that James B. Ward, the author of the Beale Papers encoded. He then meets up with a crypto-analyst to get further evidence on the hoax theory.

## Historical Context

"The story begins in 1817 with a Virginia adventurer named Thomas Beale, who led an expedition out West that discovered huge quantities of gold and silver. Beale transported the 8,000-pound haul to a secret hiding spot in the backcountry of Virginia. Worried that the money could fall into the wrong hands, he crafted three coded documents that contain the names of his teammates, a description of the contexts, and more importantly, the exact location of the treasure. Beale locked the papers in an iron box and gave them to a local innkeeper with instructions to open the container only if he didn't return. Beale was never seen or heard from again. In time the box is opened and a publisher named James Ward reveals the three coded documents in a pamphlet called "The Beale Papers."

- Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh drives from New York to Lynchburg, Virginia and visits Foamhenge. Once in Lynchburg, he visits the Old Washington Inn where Thomas Beale supposedly gave the owner Mr Morriss the Beale Papers. A publisher, James Ward, was able to decode one of the documents by using the Declaration of Independence. From Lynchburg, Josh heads to Bedford County, Virginia and to Buford's Tavern where it's reported that the treasure is within four miles of. Josh goes to meet Mike Evans. They go up in an aeroplane and fly around to find old trails that the Beale treasure could've been buried near.

Once back on the ground, Mike and Josh meet up with Steve Cole, Mike's treasure-hunting partner. Once they reach the coordinates it's dark and they make camp. The next day they find an old horseshoe as well as an old dam which could've once been seen as a waterfall. They find a sixpence coin from 1788. Josh heads to the Bedford Museum where he reads multiple articles that imply that James Ward, the publisher of the papers, wrote it as a story to make money. Ward was a freemason which is a secretive group that communicates with codes.

Josh heads to Philadelphia to the Grand Masonic Lodge to meet with Mike Comfort, a Freemason. He finds out that Beale also could've been a mason in addition to Ward, and Mike suggests he look out of the box when trying to decode the cyphers. From Philadelphia, Josh goes back to Bedford County.

He meets with treasure hunter Justin Cannady who found an early version of the Declaration of Independence with the initials TJB (Thomas Jefferson Beale) on top. The top is torn to look like hills and valleys and there is an Egyptian sign for water on the back. They go rafting on the James River and along the way, Josh falls out but is alright. They do find a mountain range that perfectly matches the top of the paper and go check it out. They rappel down into an underground cave and the first thing they find is a very old nail and also the top of an old lantern. However, they don't find anything else.

From there, Josh goes to Annapolis Junction, Maryland and meets with Todd Mateer, a cryptanalyst at the National Cryptologic Museum. Todd made a computer program to take the Declaration of Independence and line it up to the second Beale cypher. It turns out there are five to six errors and that the person who wrote it and the one that solved it would've had to make the exact same mistakes. When Todd tried applying the program to the first Beale cypher they get an exact "abc" sequence which would've been near impossible to have happened randomly. They believe the first and third cyphers were never supposed to be solved and the author wrote random letters. They decide it is a publishing ploy.

## Final Words

"Mr Mateer's 21st-century analysis of the Beale Ciphers has led us to a definitive answer. This code is a brilliant hoax. James Ward, the man who published "The Beale Papers," created, in a sense, a viral marketing stunt for the ages. By solving just the cypher that describes the glittering treasure he gave hope that the other two could also be cracked and that anyone who purchased his pamphlet could get rich overnight. No doubt that countless Beale fortune hunters, present and future, will disagree and be undeterred. And while I think that science has proved that there is no gold waiting for them in Virginia's backcountry, I don't think they'll come up empty-handed. It's the thrill of the hunt, the camaraderie, and the adventure of chasing this improbable dream."

- Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "Thus Always to Tyrants. That is a bummer state motto. It's probably why they went with "Virginia Is For Lovers."
* "Foamhenge. Just so we're clear that's Stonehenge made out of foam in Virginia."
* "While I'd be a bit more comfortable cruising down this runway in a John Deere mower rather than a twin-engine aeroplane."
* "I couldn't actually find a seat in the train so I'm just gonna hang out here by the condiments. Really relishing this moment."
* "I don't know about finding treasure but I've just about memorised the Declaration of Independence"
* "Rob, is this a pretty common occurrence for you - a couple of guys with a copy of the Declaration of Independence out on your raft looking for treasure?"
* "Here we are beautiful Virginia. The Civil War state. The tobacco state. The pick up truck state."

## Gallery

Photos shown in the slideshow are from Travel Channel's Code to Gold slideshow. If you hover over the images, their exact image address will appear.

* Josh, Justin, and the team rappel into a Virginia caveGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/18/expedition-unknown-107-code-to-gold/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-code-gold-ss-011.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582231616.jpeg
* The Grand Masonic Temple in PhiladelphiaGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/18/expedition-unknown-107-code-to-gold/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-code-gold-ss-002.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.822.suffix/1491582231539.jpeg
* Josh at the Cryptology MuseumGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/18/expedition-unknown-107-code-to-gold/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-code-gold-ss-004.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582231561.jpeg
* The Beale PapersGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/18/expedition-unknown-107-code-to-gold/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-code-gold-ss-005.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.822.suffix/1491582231571.jpeg
* Josh meets Todd Mateer from the NSAGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/18/expedition-unknown-107-code-to-gold/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-code-gold-ss-009.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582231594.jpeg
* Catawba Murder Hole in VirginiaGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/18/expedition-unknown-107-code-to-gold/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-code-gold-ss-010.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582231603.jpeg
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## References

1. ↑ https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/02/18/expedition-unknown-107-code-to-gold/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-code-gold-ss-001.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491582231531.jpeg