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PSA: Don't buy a 'treasure map' from a random seller on Etsy
I dropped $85 on a supposed 1850s gold rush map of the Sierra foothills last spring, and it turned out to be a printed copy of a modern hiking trail guide. The seller had great reviews too, but when I compared it to USGS records at the county library, the landmarks didn't match any 19th century claims. I ended up spending two weekends chasing phantom creeks and abandoned shafts, not a single flake of gold. Has anyone else gotten burned by fake or doctored historical maps online?
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noah91725d agoMost Upvoted
Maybe the real treasure was the two weekends I'll never get back. I once dropped $60 on a "vintage" map of a ghost town in Nevada and it turned out the seller just drew in extra mines to make it look cooler. The only thing I dug up was a rusty horseshoe and a very angry badger. At this point I'm convinced the only gold in those old maps is the gold paint on the frame.
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