‘Lost Gold’ Brothers Josh & Jesse Feldman on How They Hunt for Long-Eluded Treasure
Q&A
There’s gold in them thar hills! Or at least that’s what brothers Josh and Jesse Feldman are hoping. The new reality series Lost Gold follows the Arizona natives as they venture across the West in search of hidden treasures.
But they aren’t after just ordinary ore: These history buffs hunt for lost loot and hidden mines from the Old West — the stuff of legends — and finding them will require turning back the hands of time to solve mysteries a couple of centuries old.
On the premiere, they look for a stash that once belonged to Milton Sharp, an 1880s stagecoach robber who died without revealing the location of his ill-gotten riches. Here, the Feldmans preview whether they’ll go boom or bust.
What made you develop a taste for this line of work?
Jesse Feldman: We didn’t have a choice! Well before we were born, our dad came to Arizona in search of the Lost Dutchman, a legendary lost gold mine believed to be in the Superstition Mountains, and we grew up in that treasure-seeking culture.
Josh Feldman: Our dad might as well have been Indiana Jones to us, and we got to go along with him on his adventures. But it isn’t the treasure itself that really attracts us. It’s the chance to find history by bringing stories to life.
How do you attempt to locate something that’s eluded discovery for 100-plus years?
Jesse: We come into this knowing a lot about what was going on in the Old West, which helps us to decipher the truth. Because if the legends about lost loot were correct, it would’ve been found by now.
Josh: We use every single resource we can: old newspaper clippings, historical archives, talking to locals. That’s our time machine. The trail to Milton Sharp’s loot had so many twists and turns!
If you actually do find what you’re looking for, is it yours to keep?
Josh: It depends on where you find it. If it’s on privately held land, then it’s the landowners’. If it’s on land that’s owned publicly, there’s a legal process you have to go through to claim it.
What qualities do each of you bring to your partnership?
Josh: I’m louder and more excitable, less likely to look before I leap. Jesse is older and the bookworm. He keeps me in check.
Jesse: You can’t leap off a cliff without knowing what’s there first. Before you go out on a search, you have to be well informed and do your research.
Josh: When it comes to treasure hunting, you absolutely have to be able to trust your partner, and we have that. Plus, we know that if anything goes wrong, Mom will keep us in line — she’s our safety net!
Lost Gold, Series Premiere, Monday, January 14, 10/9c, Travel Channel
