Treasure Hunters Marty and Rick Lagina Have Seemingly Spent Millions on Oak Island

For over 10 years and 12 seasons, the History Channel's Curse of Oak Island reality TV series has showcased the treasure-hunting exploits of brothers Marty and Rick Lagina, who have been searching for fabled riches within Nova Scotia's Oak Island.

Since 2014, the two Michiganders have worked tirelessly with their expansive team — including some additional family members — to uncover the secrets of the island, from the Money Pit to the Baby Blob.

While the extent of the treasures supposedly lying beneath the surface of Oak Island isn't exactly known, it's rumored to be worth somewhere around £2 million (or just over $2.5 million in USD). However, over the course of the show, it seems that the team behind The Curse of Oak Island have spent way more than that while searching for said treasure.

But just how much?

It may seem counterintuitive to spend tens of millions of dollars to search for buried treasure that's worth just over $2 million, but the Lagina brothers have certainly made quite a career of it.

While the exact amount that they've spent in pursuit of Oak Island's riches is unknown to the public, dedicated fans have done their research and come up with some calculations.

On Reddit, one anonymous fan speculated that the amount they've spent is around $72 million CAD (or around $50 million USD) as of 2023. This is based on the fact that 30 percent of the funding for the show reportedly comes from the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund (NSFPIF), and each season, the amount spent by this organization is available to the public.

"2022 — Season 10 has been approved for a funding commitment of $3,414,011 based on eligible Nova Scotia expenditure of $11,572,918," the Reddit user shared. "2021 — Season 9 has been approved for a funding commitment of $3,844,396 based on eligible Nova Scotia expenditure of $13,031,852."

They continued down the line, listing the apparent NSFPIF expenditures going back to Season 4 in 2016.

Of course, this calculation didn't take into account spending for Seasons 11 or 12, meaning that in reality, the number would be even higher.

"That’s a lot of ox shoes and rose head nails," one user quipped, referencing a few of the "valuable" items that have been uncovered on the show so far.

In addition, they've also found a 17th-century copper coin from Spain, an unauthenticated Roman sword, a garnet brooch that's over 400 years old, and human bone fragments.

Whether or not those findings constitute treasure — or whether they're worth over $70 million CAD — is up to the viewer.

However, the success of The Curse of Oak Island, which has made Rick Lagina a millionaire and bolstered the net worth of the already-wealthy Marty Lagina, is a sort of treasure in itself.