The debate over what is the correct solution to the Beale Ciphers has raged on for many years. Too many years. There are hundreds of solutions floating around, and plenty of books and videos that people have prepared to explain their solution. However, no official solution has been agreed upon by professional and amateur cryptologists.
Although I have my own beliefs about what the solution to the ciphers may be, I feel it is important for everyone to reach their own conclusion. Therefore, I have decided to post EVERY solution I can find on this webpage. The spread of information (even if false) is important, and may ultimately lead to the correct solution.
20 years ago, in TREASURE Magazine (now out of circulation), a man under the disguised name of "Mr. Cross" came forward to reveal a complex formula that could be applied to Cipher #1. He presented a series of clues to help the reader recreate what his friend "Mr. Green" had allegedly found in the back of a family Bible. "Mr. Cross" claimed that the numbers found in the solution to Cipher #2 could be added to the numbers in Cipher #1 to find the solution. He even revealed that the end of Cipher #1 was signed CAPTAIN THM J BEALL. More information regarding this solution will be forthcoming.
Website: The Last Haunting of Edgar Allan Poe
E-mail: Robert Ward: info@bealepapers.com
Robert Ward of Maryland has constructed an interesting website that offers circumstanial evidence that Edgar Allan Poe was the author of the Beale Papers.
E-mail: Charlie Mason: mason1@eritter.net
Charlie Mason and his brother David have worked on the Beale Mystery for many years. They believe that the "EVER" letter contained in the Beale Papers can be used in a specific pattern to link Poe to the Beale Papers.
Websites: Beale's Vault Has Been Found!, BEALE CIPHER SOLVED, Beale's Vault Found!
E-mail: Steven Ninichuck: BealeSolved@aol.com
Steve, along with his friends Gary and Dan, claim to have solved Cipher #1 and #3. To back up their claim, Steve has posted pictures of the vault on the webpages above, as well as the complete decipherment of Cipher #3. He is currently writing a book that will describe their discovery and honor the memory of his friend Dan.
Joseph Duran has been searching for the Beale Treasure for many years. And now he and his partners claim they've found the site. Unfortunately the site resides on land within a Federal Park. Joseph Duran and his partners are attempting to obtain enough money to get the appropriate license from the government to dig at the site. He and his partners are selling a video for $30, that outlines the solution to Cipher #1 and #3. They claim that if you use the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, as well as using information from the P.B. Innis book "Gold in the Blue Ridge", that the solution leads you to the North slope of the Blue Ridge, near the James River.
E-mail: Mel: AM4U4CORSAIR@aol.com
Mel has worked on the Beale Mystery for over 30 years! He claims the solution is within the Beale Papers themselves, and that the treasure actually belonged to the pirate Jean Pierre LaFitte. His book has now been published and can be purchased at his site.
E-mail: Fred Jones: questions@losttreasureofvirginia.com
Fred Jones has appeared on the History Channel show "History's Mysteries". He claims he met a man named "Poncho" on top of the Peaks of Otter and was given notes regarding a solution to Cipher #1 and #3 which is in French. He is selling a book for $32.95 which details his solution.
Website: The Beale Cipher: A Dissenting Opinion
E-mail: Jim Gillogly: jim@acm.org
In October 1980, Jim Gillogly had a paper published in Cryptologia, a cryptography journal, that presented his theory for why the Beale Ciphers are a hoax. He had determined that if you apply the same deciphering technique of Cipher #2 to Cipher #1 that an alphabet string is revealed. The string of text is the following: ABFDEFGHIIJKLMMNOHPP. Because the Declaration of Independence only contains 10 words that start with J, and 4 that start with K, the odds of that string occuring randomly are approximately 10 TRILLION to One! He feels because of these long odds, that this is proof that the ciphers are either a hoax, or need another layer of decryption in order to reveal the solution.
If you know of a solution to the Beale Ciphers and wish to share it with me or a link to a page that contains a solution, contact me at my e-mail address: smd173@yahoo.com