Gary Drayton was born on May 30, 1961, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. He is a British-American metal detecting expert and treasure hunter.
Millions know him as the resident detectorist on The Curse of Oak Island.
Who is Gary Drayton?
Gary Drayton works as a metal detecting expert, author, and television personality. Fans often call him the Metal Detecting Ninja because of his sharp eye for buried treasure.
He built his reputation hunting Spanish shipwreck treasure along the Florida coast. That reputation eventually caught the attention of Hollywood producers.
Drayton joined The Curse of Oak Island in 2016 as a recurring cast member. He later became a full-time cast member starting in season 5, and he remains part of the show as of 2026.
His most celebrated find on the series is a 300-year-old emerald and gold ring worth roughly $500,000. Beyond television, he also writes instructional books on beach and water metal detecting, with credits listed on his IMDb profile.
Early Life of Gary Drayton
Drayton grew up in Grimsby, a seaport town in North East Lincolnshire, England. He spent years there as a bottle digger, searching old Victorian trash pits and river banks for antique glass and clay pipes.
Some bottles he unearthed dated back to the early 1600s. He also found clay pipes from the 1500s and, on one occasion, a Roman perfume bottle left over from the Roman occupation of Britain.
His interest in bottle digging gradually pulled him toward metal detecting. Every dig, he noticed more coins turning up alongside the bottles and pipes.
Drayton eventually moved from England to South Florida to pursue treasure hunting full time. On his very first day out with a metal detector on a Florida beach, he dug up a Spanish silver piece of eight.
Gary Drayton Age
Gary Drayton is 65 years old as of 2026, born on May 30, 1961. His zodiac sign is Gemini.
He has spent more than three decades working as a professional treasure hunter. That experience now spans careers on two continents, from English river banks to Florida beaches and the excavation sites of Oak Island.
Gary Drayton Ethnicity and Nationality
Gary Drayton holds British nationality by birth and has lived in the United States for years. He is of White British, or Caucasian, ethnicity.
His accent remains distinctly English despite decades spent living and working in South Florida. He often credits his upbringing along England’s east coast for his early fascination with digging up old objects.
Gary Drayton Height and Weight
Gary Drayton stands at 5 feet 5 inches, equal to about 165 centimeters. His exact current weight is not publicly confirmed.
He has a compact, wiry build well suited to hours spent crouched over a metal detector on sandy beaches. That stamina has served him well across years of fieldwork on Oak Island’s excavation sites.
Gary Drayton Education
Drayton attended Sir John Franklin School in Grimsby, England, where he completed his secondary education. He did not pursue a university degree in his field.
Instead, he taught himself metal detecting and treasure hunting through years of hands-on fieldwork. His self-taught expertise later became one of his defining traits on The Curse of Oak Island.
Gary Drayton Career
Breakthrough Discoveries in Florida
After relocating to South Florida, Drayton quickly built a reputation among treasure hunters along the Atlantic coast. A few months after his first piece of eight, he unearthed a 1715 Spanish Fleet gold and emerald ring.
That ring later became known as his ultimate bobby dazzler, a phrase he uses for standout finds. His approach to searching, which favors unconventional sites and careful site reading, has led him to hundreds of gold rings, coins, and pieces of jewelry over the years.
Bob Weller, a well-known salvager of the 1715 Spanish Fleet, once praised Drayton for embodying the three Ps of treasure hunting. Those three Ps are patience, persistence, and preservation.
Joining The Curse of Oak Island
Drayton’s Spanish treasure discoveries drew interest from television producers, leading to appearances on several shows before The Curse of Oak Island. He joined the History Channel series in 2016 as a recurring metal detecting expert.
By season 5, he had become a full-time cast member alongside Rick Lagina, Marty Lagina, and Craig Tester. The show, which first aired on January 5, 2014, follows the team’s search for treasure believed to be buried on Oak Island, Nova Scotia.
Over the years, Drayton has helped the team uncover coins, semi-precious gems, and artifacts including a 14th-century lead cross known as Drayton’s Cross. He has appeared in well over 150 episodes of the series.
Recent Seasons
Season 13 of The Curse of Oak Island aired from November 4, 2025, to May 5, 2026, and became one of the most artifact-rich seasons in the show’s run. During that season, Drayton recovered a section of 19th-century drill pipe along with other iron fragments from the Money Pit area.
In January 2025, his daughter Katya joined him on screen for the first time at Smith’s Cove. Since then, she has continued appearing alongside him as a metal detecting cast member in her own right.
Drayton also uses a range of Minelab detectors in his fieldwork, including the GPX 5000 for beach searches and the Equinox 800 while traveling. His first Minelab detector, the Excalibur, remains a tool he still uses today.
Gary Drayton Awards and Recognition
Drayton has not received major industry awards, but he has earned recognition within the treasure hunting community itself. Fellow Spanish Fleet salvager Bob Weller publicly praised his skill and discipline in the field.
His work on The Curse of Oak Island has also made him one of the most recognizable metal detecting experts on television. The show remains one of the highest-rated series on the History Channel.
Gary Drayton Wife
Gary Drayton is married to Jennifer Gail Sauve. The couple wed on December 17, 1996, in Clark County, Nevada.
They have remained married for nearly three decades. Gary and Jennifer live together in Pompano Beach, Florida, where they have resided since February 1999.
Jennifer occasionally appears alongside Gary in family posts shared on social media. The couple keeps most details of their private life outside the spotlight.
Gary Drayton Children
Gary and Jennifer are the parents of two daughters, Anya and Katya Drayton. Both grew up around metal detecting, often joining their father on hunts from a young age.
Katya has been metal detecting with Gary since she was seven years old. In January 2025, she officially joined the cast of The Curse of Oak Island, working alongside the team at Smith’s Cove.
She has continued appearing on the show through its most recent seasons. Drayton has spoken openly about his pride in seeing his daughter follow him into the field.
Gary Drayton Net Worth
Gary Drayton’s estimated net worth is $3 million as of 2026. His income comes from his role on The Curse of Oak Island, his treasure discoveries, book sales, and private treasure hunting lessons.
His published books, including guides on searching heavily hunted beaches, add a steady secondary income stream. Speaking engagements and detecting tours also contribute to his earnings.
Gary Drayton Social Media
Gary Drayton stays active on Instagram, where he posts under the handle @gary.drayton. He regularly shares treasure finds, behind-the-scenes clips from Oak Island, and glimpses of his family life.
His account has become a hub for fans who want updates between television seasons. He also promotes his books and metal detecting lessons through the platform.
The Bottom Line
Gary Drayton turned a childhood habit of digging up old bottles in England into a career that led him to a 1715 Spanish Fleet gold and emerald ring worth roughly $500,000. He has appeared in more than 150 episodes of The Curse of Oak Island since joining the cast in 2016.
He grew up in Grimsby, England, before relocating to South Florida, where his English accent and self-taught expertise became trademarks of his television persona. His catchphrases, including Bobby Dazzler and Top Pocket Find, have become familiar to fans of the show.
Season 13 of The Curse of Oak Island wrapped in May 2026 with some of the richest finds in the show’s history, and his daughter Katya now works alongside him on screen. Gary Drayton remains a central figure in the ongoing search for Oak Island’s treasure.
We hope you enjoyed reading about Gary Drayton. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!