The Beale Ciphers
A pamphlet promised that three coded pages led to buried gold in Virginia. Only one has ever been read.
What was reported
In 1885 a pamphlet published in Lynchburg, Virginia, told the story of Thomas J. Beale, who it said had buried gold, silver and jewels in Bedford County in the 1820s and left three coded pages describing where it was, what it was and who it belonged to.
The second page was decoded using the US Declaration of Independence as the key: each number stands for a word, and the first letter of that word spells out the text. It describes the treasure and says it lies about four miles from Buford's tavern. The other two pages have never been solved.
Explanations offered
Many cryptographers and historians think the whole thing is a hoax, perhaps written to sell pamphlets: there's no record of Beale, the story's language has words that weren't used in the 1820s, and statistical studies suggest the unsolved pages may not hide real text. Treasure hunters still dig in Bedford County.
- When
- Published in 1885
- Where
- Bedford County, Virginia, USA
- Witnesses
- A pamphlet by an anonymous author
- Status
- Never solved
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.