Real pirate treasure at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

This is part of a special exhibit - "Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah Gally from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship"

Captained by "Black Sam" Bellamy, the Whydah was laden with over 4.5 tons of gold, silver and precious treasure, the spoils from conquering 50 ships, when on April 26, 1717, she encountered a nor'easter off the coast of Cape Cod and wrecked on the shoals off Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Bellamy and all but two of his 145 crewmen were killed.

This is just a sampling of the gold coins that have been recovered from the wreck by Barry Clifford, who discovered the wreck of the pirate ship in 1984; it was the first authenticated pirate ship ever to be discovered.