The Solution

A Declaration

I have successfully solved the Thomas Beale cipher and identified the location of the treasure with an approximate value of $45m. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only person who has managed to accomplish this. Despite many attempts over the past 150 years, the cipher has remained an unsolved mystery — until now.

What the Cipher Reveals

Thomas Beale, a 19th-century cowboy, discovered a massive gold deposit, which he subsequently hid. Although the cipher itself dates back to 1911, I have pinpointed the treasure's location with remarkable accuracy — within metres.

The location is referenced multiple times within the cipher, providing a high degree of confidence in the result. The cipher begins with the phrase "noe sooner sed than done" (sic) — a tantalising opening line that sets the tone for the entire encoded message.

There are a lot of errors in the cipher, but the location is clear.

Why This Matters

The Beale cipher is widely regarded as one of the most famous unsolved codes in history. Generations of cryptographers, historians, treasure hunters, and hobbyists have devoted years — in some cases, lifetimes — to cracking it. The fact that Cipher No. 2, describing the treasure's contents, was solved in the 19th century has long tantalised researchers with the promise that Ciphers No. 1 and No. 3 might also yield to the right approach.

The decoded information from Books 1 and 3 now provides the missing pieces: the precise location of the vault and the identities of its original owners.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Pilgrim