A: When the pirate icon Blackbeard met his Waterloo at Okracoke (his pillaging hub off the coast of North Carolina), his enemies confiscated 25 hogshead of sugar, 145 bags of cocoa, a barrel of indigo, and a bale of cotton. Not exactly the sacks full of rubies and sapphires the British Royal Navy was hoping for. When asked where the real treasure was, it’s said he replied, “Only I and the devil know.” Since that time, beachcombers have donned Hawaiian print shirts and scoured the Carolina coast with metal detectors—probably in vain. The fact is, Blackbeard’s treasure is more likely legend than anything else. Pirates usually acquired their pieces of eight, doubloons, and jewelry from black market trade of the coffee, tea, slaves, textiles, medicines, etc. they stole from ships. And for all the talk of buried treasure, pirates weren’t known for their retirement planning. They usually blew their money on women, booze, and gambling.