# The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been…

> Most likely: The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been nothing but a settler's hole.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52X6SA21RX/the-story-of-a-worked-pit-was-invented-or-inflated-in-the  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

---

[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Oak Island money pit](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island)[What is the Oak Island money pit?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit)Answer

Answer · Oak Island money pit

# The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been…

The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been nothing but a settler's hole.

**Most likely** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Most likely** Its tests partly supported it: three pieces of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- No pre-1857 document will ever mention the pit or a treasure.
- The earliest accounts contradict later ones and add detail as each company needed money.
- Finds that supported a promotion (the stone, the gold links) appear only in promoters' writing.

## What would rule it out

- A pre-1850 private letter, diary or court record describes the pit, the platforms or the stone.

## Evidence 3 for · 1 against

['Patrick' in 1861 reports digging under the platforms and finding it dry, contradicting the flooded-vault…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X7GR4GT5/patrick-in-1861-reports-digging-under-the-platforms-and)

Suggestive

FOR

[The 1861 'Oak Island Folly' says shares sold at an enormous premium; the flood-tunnel claim first appears in…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X71469FA/the-1861-oak-island-folly-says-shares-sold-at-an-enormous)

Supported

FOR

[The stone's 'translation' first appears in the 1893 company prospectus.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X78Y6HWC/the-stones-translation-first-appears-in-the-1893-company)

Supported

FOR

[The 1795 story names real settlers of the island, so a core event cannot be ruled out.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X7RJ0MGW/the-1795-story-names-real-settlers-of-the-island-so-a-core)

Suggestive

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[What is the Oak Island money pit?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit)

Most likelyThe depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were…

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been… [Answer ANS0D52X6SA21RX]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0D52X6SA21RX
```

Key

**ANS** 0D52X6SA21RX

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

Every record is open data. Take this one as JSON, with its links and its history.

[JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/api/v1/records/ANS0D52X6SA21RX)
