Sunken and buried treasures - lost to the light of day for centuries...
Antiquities and artifacts that speak of distant times and places, lifetimes removed from our modern world...
Genuine pieces of history you can hold in your hand - hundreds and sometimes thousands of years old...
Where did they come from, who made them, how did they become lost for centuries, and who spent a lifetime discovering and recovering them?
Now, the lost treasures of pirates, privateers, pioneers, war lords, bandits, explorers, rebels, kings and princesses, and their fascinating stories, come to life for you here at Cannon Beach Treasure Company online.
For centuries owned only by pirates and the super-wealthy, now you can own authentic treasures that are seldom seen in public. As you browse our site, you will experience hundreds of completely unique, one-of-a-kind works of art, hand-crafted by artisans long ago. And, best of all, you will glimpse their stories - for every treasure has an amazing story.
Each of our treasures is professionally conserved by Robert, extensively documented by us (our detailed, multi-page, full-color Certificates of Authenticity are the Gold Standard), and exquisitely set in heirloom jewelry settings to preserve their beauty and value.
So, honorary pirates, treasure hunters and history buffs of all ages... are you ready to discover your genuine piece of the past that will be treasured for generations to come?
Remember, if you need a hand choosing, we are only a phone call, email or Skype away!
Robert and April Knecht
503.436.1626
Email Us Here
You might say that Robert was destined to live the life of a historian, treasure hunter and adventurer. He was born in Crescent City, California, just six miles from the wreck of Brother Jonathon that sank in 1865 and took $50 million in gold to the bottom. Living remotely in Oregon, his father would take Robert, and his younger brother Richard, out metal detecting, panning for gold and hunting arrow heads in the mountain streams and rivers. Robert grew up in the family acrobatic show business act (The Balancing Knechts), visiting historic landmarks all over the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
After retiring from show-biz, the family moved to Key Largo, Florida, and bought the Yellow Bait House. While managing the store, Robert wrote two best-selling books about fishing the Florida Keys. He also worked as a firefighter/EMT and wrote for local newspapers.
His first expedition was in 1988 as the medic and photojournalist/videographer for the O.R.C.A. Project that was searching for a whaling ship that sank in 1897, 250 miles inside the Arctic Circle. This led him into the world of historic shipwreck salvage with Florida Keys treasure salvors. Since then, he has made over 900 dives and filmed numerous treasure expeditions, above and below the water, from the Florida Keys to Mexico to Sri Lanka (where he produced the Taj Mahal Sunken Treasure project with Sir Arthur C. Clarke).
In 1994 he was inducted into the prestigious Explorers Club as a Fellow National. And when he isn’t at Cannon Beach Treasure Company, he’s researching and writing about treasure discoveries, or treasure hunting. His most recent documentary adventure was filming a nine-month expedition in the Superstition Mountains searching for the legendary Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. As an award-winning cameraman and producer, his work has appeared on PBS, Discovery Channel, History Channel and many others. He has also appeared on History Channel’s top rated Pawn Stars.
FUN FACT: Robert’s father, John, worked for Pacific Power in Northern California’s remote gold country; his mother, Arlene, was a teacher in Crescent City. John befriended some of the “old timers” still taking their burros into the mountains to hunt the rivers for gold and got hooked by the “gold bug.” Before Robert was born, Arlene took a summer trip to Redondo Beach and bought a gold dredge and a hookah rig (to use in the rivers) from Mel Fisher at his Aqua Shop. And Mel taught her how to dive in the community pool. In 1962, Fisher and his family closed their shop and relocated to Florida to hunt for Spanish galleon treasure. That story didn’t resurface until Robert started working with Florida Keys treasure hunters… and Mel let out his famous laugh when he heard the story.
April grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area the daughter of history-loving parents of pioneer ancestry. Like Robert, April spent time-off from the family business exploring historic sites and long-abandoned ghost towns throughout the West.
After 20 years in corporate America, putting her experience as a top Marketing and Creative talent to work for multi-nationals ready to cash in on lucrative multi-channel marketing opportunities, she was ready to trade in her corner office for a full-time consulting career. However, her background in adventure travel, a university education in history, and a passion for working and living abroad, soon led her to swap the board room for a backpack, and the rest is history.
So she returned to her roots, getting up close and personal working with, and studying, Celtic, Greek and Roman history and antiquities while living in Europe. Now, almost 20 years later, she’s still not afraid to get her hands dirty, and is as at home living in a tent for months on end as she is sailing a boat in the tropics or her beloved San Francisco Bay, and approaches treasure hunting with the heart of an historian, and the soul of a story teller.
From the tiny towns of the forgotten European countryside, to the dark and mysterious Celtic burial crypts of Scotland’s outer islands, April can’t get enough of history and one-on-one contact with our distant past and the precious treasures left for us to discover… whether in soil or sea.
When she’s not in the field, April loves to entertain with stories gleaned from her experience working with pioneer families throughout the West, preserving America’s heritage for a generation far removed from the wagon train and campfire. From her design background in retail floristry growing up, and graphic design as a marketing professional, April brings her own unique vision to life with CannonBeachtreasure.com. And as our resident ancient treasures expert, April draws on her extensive knowledge of, and experience with, the art and artifacts of the ancient world to design and hand-craft many of the pieces you will see here on our website.
April and Robert met on a mutual project in Scottsdale, AZ and quickly discovered their mutual love of history and adventure. They are inseparable, and often refer to each other as true “soulmates.” They have been adventuring and married for 18 years… with plenty more adventures planned.
