Gary Drayton is The Curse of Oak Island’s leading metal-detecting expert and his impressive finds have made him an invaluable part of the team.
The Curse of Oak Island has certainly now become one of History’s most successful shows. Millions of fans have been tuning in for over ten seasons to watch the self-proclaimed “Fellowship of the Dig” work to unearth, uncover and investigate all of the mysteries buried on Oak Island.
And while all of the members of this incredible treasure-hunting team have slowly crept their way into the fans’ hearts following along on the journey from home, Gary Drayton was established as a quick The Curse of Oak Island fan-favorite, pretty much from the first moment that he appeared on the series in season 2.
Who is Gary Drayton?
Gray Drayton is Oak Island’s resident metal-detection expert who originally joined the cast in the show’s second season, before signing on as a permanent member of the team later in season 5.
Before Gary became the confident metal-detector wielding reality television star that we all know and love today, he got his start mudlarking in the shallow waters of Lincolnshire in England.
But of course, he now spends most of his time roaming the shores of the ever-elusive Oak Island in search of more unexplained treasures.
Gary’s top ten top-pocket finds
While The Curse of Oak Island team has not managed to track down the island’s rumored buried treasure yet, they have certainly found a variety of compelling artifacts in the last few years.
Gary summarized ten of his favorite so-called top-pocket finds in The Curse of Oak Island companion show, Drilling Down’s eighth season, as follows:
| Rank | Description | Episode |
| 10. | Two 17th century British coins | Season 5, Episode 3 |
| 9. | A gold-plated British military button | Season 4, Episode 15 |
| 8. | The French military badge | Season 6, Episode 5 |
| 7. | The hand point iron chisel | Season 7, Episode 1 |
| 6. | An iron sailing ship strap | Season 7, Episode 14 |
| 5. | The iron swages | Season 7, Episode 2 |
| 4. | The hand-cut garnet pin | Season 5, Episode 15 |
| 3. | The gold-plated brooch | Season 6, Episode 1 |
| 2. | The pre-14th century lead cross | Season 5, Episode 10 |
And, in classic The Curse of Oak Island fashion, Gary ended this episode of Drilling Down with one last unsolved mystery.
He stated that the number one spot on his favorite-finds list is reserved for an extra-special treasure which he is convinced he is yet to find on the island at some point in the future.
Gary does not keep his The Curse of Oak Island expertise to himself
While treasure-hunters are rather notorious for being fairly self-involved, Gary is completely willing to share his metal-detecting expertise with other enthusiasts worldwide.
In fact, Gary’s personal website not only details his personal journey as a ‘Bobby Dazzler’-hunter, but it also offers the public the chance to book a private lesson with Gary in Florida, where, he promises to teach site reading skills, metal detector and settings advice, as well as a few “outside the box” search techniques.
Gary’s favorite part of working on Oak Island
Oak Island has been drawing in treasure hunters and subject-matter experts from all over the world for centuries.
And while every member of The Curse of Oak Island team who is currently excavating the island has their own story of why they signed on for the project in the first place, Gary seems to be driven purely by a search for the truth.
Gary shared with Matty Blake (Drilling Down’s host) that he feels compelled to make the trek to the island every season because there is always a chance that he could uncover another piece of history that no one even knew was there before.
And of course, Gary is also still certain that there is some vast, previously-undiscovered treasure still hiding somewhere beneath Oak Island’s surface, which is just waiting to be discovered.
Why Gary’s work on Oak Island is so important
The Curse of Oak Island has now been on the air for almost a decade. And although by now the series has faced endless criticism for keeping its fans on a line without delivering any new compelling evidence, Gary has explained why the work that he does uncovering these items is nonetheless invaluable.
According to Gary, all of the artifacts, coins, crosses, metal spikes, pottery, mining shafts, tunnels, booby traps, roads, and more which have been unearthed, uncovered and found on the show so far – tell the story of Oak Island.
And according to Rick Lagina specifically, this story (and the entirety of Oak Island’s mysterious history) is just as important as the supposed hidden treasure.
