DiscoverSea Museum

10-15-2025

You have to admire someone who dares to pursue his passion. That’s precisely what Dale Clifton Jr. did in July 1995 when he founded the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum to recover and preserve maritime history. My wife and I visited more than twenty years ago, and I still smile thinking about that trip.

The museum is located at 708 Ocean Highway in Fenwick Island, Delaware, on the second floor of Shell City. At first glance, it appears to be an unusual location for a museum. Yet it draws over 200,000 visitors every year from forty states and six countries. Inside its 2,000-square-foot space, you’ll find thousands of artifacts from shipwrecks, including pieces from the Faithful Steward. The museum also displays treasures valued at over one million dollars from the RMS Republic, a ship that sank in 1909 and was part of the White Star Line, the same company known for the Titanic.

One highlight features artifacts Clifton recovered from the Atocha while working with legendary treasure hunter Mel Fisher. Other pieces come from the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet, the China Wreck, and the Quicksilver Galleons. The collection ranges from everyday shipboard items to gold and silver coins. Even more astonishing, the showcases reveal only about 10% of the entire collection. Other artifacts appear in seven museums worldwide, including Derry, Ireland, where the Faithful Steward began its ill-fated journey.

Walking through the museum feels like stepping into another time. Each display case tells a story of tragedy, discovery, or adventure. Dale’s passion radiates in every corner. After just a few minutes with him, you notice the sparkle in his eyes, his boundless energy, and his eagerness to share shipwreck history with anyone willing to listen.

During my visits, I watched him engage with families and groups. He often placed a gold finger bar into a child’s hand or draped a 10½-foot gold chain around their neck. He never mentioned the monetary value. Instead, he told the story behind each piece. That focus on history, not price, makes the experience unforgettable.

One of Dale’s favorite stories involved Spanish taxes on gold in 1622. To avoid paying the crown, some citizens turned coins into jewelry, crafting long chains. Each link matched the weight of a single gold escudo. When they needed to make a purchase, they broke off a link. Even then, people sought creative ways to evade taxes.

Dale’s personal story began at fourteen when he promised himself he would find a lost treasure coin. He discovered his first one a year and two months later. He never stopped searching. Over the past thirty years, he has recovered more than 200,000 coins from “Coin Beach,” a one-mile stretch of Delaware shoreline famous for treasure washing ashore from the wreck of the Faithful Steward.

The Faithful Steward ran aground on September 1, 1785, only 150 yards off Indian River Inlet. On board were 249 passengers, including 100 women and children. Sadly, only 68 survived. Records later revealed that Robert E. Lee’s grandfather had initially booked passage but canceled due to unfinished business in England. History could have looked very different had he sailed.

The ship carried 400 barrels of British and Irish half pennies and gold rose guineas. Storms continue to churn coins ashore centuries later. Dale estimates each barrel contained 200,000 to 300,000 coins, so plenty still lie buried under the sand. I can personally confirm that fact—I found a small shipwreck coin myself during an early morning hunt along Coin Beach.

Not everything I recovered proved valuable. Dale jokingly called most of my finds “leave-a-rights”—things you leave right there on the beach. Still, a few pieces cleaned up nicely, including a thin silver coin, a bronze fork handle, and fragments that might have belonged to one of the lost barrels.

The museum brims with similar stories. Dale once recovered ballast stones while scuba diving and discovered uncut emeralds embedded inside. On another occasion, he located a pirate’s boarding sword in Delaware’s Blackbird Creek, possibly tied to Blackbeard. Each discovery reminds visitors that treasure hunting depends as much on research and patience as it does on luck.

If you miss Dale at the museum, you might catch him speaking to civic groups, schools, or senior programs. From September through May, special tours can be arranged and occasionally include a beach treasure hunt for children. An annual adult treasure hunt also draws enthusiasts eager for adventure.

Admission to the DiscoverSea Museum is free, though donations help keep the doors open. The gift shop offers a wide range of items, including pirate statues, replica coins, and authentic shipwreck treasures.

If you ever find yourself near Fenwick Island, Delaware, be sure to make time for a visit. The DiscoverSea Museum is far more than a display of artifacts—it is a living story of courage, tragedy, and discovery. Dale Clifton has preserved not just gold and silver, but a vivid window into the past. And if you’re lucky, you might even leave with a piece of treasure yourself.

To learn more, visit the blog life, reflection, and faith.