Here is a link to the original article printed in 1919:
Above, you see a submarine with what appears to be metal detector coils swinging from it. There is a "Listening Post" and a "Stuffing Box". The coil is raised and lowered by a "winch". Lets make sense of this wild imagery!
The Hughes Induction Balance was known in the early 20th century. A generation after Alexander Graham Bell's unsuccessful attempt to save the life of United States President James Garfield, the first portable metal detectors were being used on European terrain to locate mines left after World War 1.
People understood that there was treasure in the ground and that a newly existing technology would help them retrieve it. In a previous blog post, we proved that treasure hunting existed before metal detectors. Even Benito Mussolini, flew in an expert named Shirl Herr who patented a device called The Hidden Metal Detector to search for Roman Ruins in the 1920's.
Lets look at the headline of the article from 1919:
It proves that people in the early 20th century were hyper aware of how much was lost during World War 1 and how much was lost in the oceans in general. The article includes a "Caviar Map" of known shipwrecks.
Six billion dollars in 1919 equates to $184,319,393,939.39 present day!
Mel Fisher used very different means to collect his treasures. In the present, there are metal detector submarines, but the dominant method for treasure hunting underwater is the combination of scuba gear with a handheld metal detector with remotely operated vehicles being used in more professional operations and at deeper depths. So, I suppose this 1919 article did predict the future.