In the newest season of Outer Banks, one of the major plotlines featured is the hunt for the treasure of the infamous pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. Although his career as a pirate lasted only two years and occurred near the end of the Golden Age of Piracy, Teach likely remains the most famous pirate in history, almost synonymous with the profession. While not the most wealthy or successful, rumors of a large treasure buried shortly before he was killed in battle have reinforced his mythical status. Many pirate legends are now known to have been mere fantasy, but could an outlaw as infamous as Blackbeard have been an exception?

For Centuries, Myths of the Blackbeard Treasure Have Remained Elusive

Although the number of famous pirates in history are quite extensive, none are more ingrained within popular culture than the legendary Blackbeard. This feels especially ironic, considering that his career on the high seas only lasted two years. Regardless, he met an epic death worthy of his fierce reputation at the hands of British Lieutenant Robert Maynard, who killed the pirate in single combat. During his short but lucrative time as an outlaw, Blackbeard usually raided sugar colonies and trade ships during a time when vast riches were still flowing out of the Americas, so it’s not at all surprising that British troops began raiding his ship, the Adventure, within literally minutes of his death.

This seizure of wealth likely remained the motivation for the troops who had ambushed Blackbeard in the first place. Ultimately, they came up disappointed, finding only a small amount of supplies and pockets of gold dust, with the total content worth an estimated £2,000 by modern standards. While certainly not a bad sum, this pales compared to other pirates like Francis Drake, who amassed a £1.2 million fortune during his own famous circumnavigation of the globe a century earlier. Nevertheless, myths about Blackbeard having buried his loot remained popular for centuries, largely thanks to a biography about the pirate published in 1724, six years after his death. Specifically, the biography mentions that one crew member was questioned about the treasure’s whereabouts, but refused to reveal its location. However, this book remains the only evidence of potential riches, and there is good reason to doubt that it actually existed.

In Real Life, Pirates Very Rarely Buried Treasure

We must always remember when discussing famous pirates that we have few written sources from the Golden Age, perhaps not surprisingly given their usual status as outlaws. Many popular concepts about pirates today are traced back to Treasure Island, published an entire century after the era had ended. This even extends to the idea of buried treasure, as many pirates preferred to spend their illegal gains on the taverns and brothels of gambling dens of Port Royal in Jamaica. Even during the time of Blackbeard, when an earthquake had already destroyed the city, few pirates were known to have potentially hidden their stash. The only examples currently known are Francis Drake and William Kidd, but even their riches were quickly found. Ironically, most of the confirmed instances of buried treasure, such as the famous $1 billion stolen from Lima, date from long after the end of the classical pirates.

The Outer Banks Do Have a Treasure — But Not in the Way You Might Think

Just because there might be no riches buried near the Outer Banks, this does not mean that nothing of value has been found there. While Blackbeard met his end in battle aboard the Adventure, the ship was not the most important one he possessed. His flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, was named in reference to his service under the House of Stuart, the English royal family which had gone extinct just as Edward Teach became famous. Once a Spanish slave trader, the ship was later captured by Blackbeard for less than a year until it was beached, shortly before the crew were discovered and massacred.

The Queen Anne’s Revenge remained lost for centuries off the coast of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, but not forever. In 1996, American archaeologists found the ship largely intact just a few miles away from the shore, becoming one of the greatest historical discoveries of the Golden Age of Piracy, which lasted for over a century. Today, the ship is now a historical site, fully open to the public and owned by the people of the state. Blackbeard might not have left us a treasure in the classical sense, but he unwittingly gave us a historical one far more valuable than any amount of gold or riches could ever hope to be.

Outer Banks is currently streaming on Netflix in the US.