There are more than those listed below and we have yet to find the Ark of The Covenant and the Holy Grail, that is, if they still exist.The next video clip has some others.
King John’s Treasure
King John ‘the Bad’ was particularly
fond of collecting (stealing) jewellery and gold plate for himself and coinage
for his guards, soldiers and court followers. In 1216 King John travelled to
Bishops Lynn in Norfolk where he arrived on the 9th October. The area is aptly
named The Wash as it was once a huge expanses of marshes and dangerous mud
flats. At Bishop’s Lynn King John fell ill with dysentery and decided to return
to Newark Castle via Wisbech. He took the slower and safer route around The
Wash. However, his soldiers and carts full of his personal possessions,
including the crown jewels he had inherited from his grandmother the Empress of
Germany, took the shorter route through the marshes.
Trapped by the tide they were
drowned – possibly close to Sutton Bridge. The treasure carts were lost and
never recovered. King John died a few days later on the 18th October 1216. What
really happened is probably much more complex.
Estimated Value:
$70,000,000
$70,000,000
The Secret City of Paititi
Most people have heard the story of
El Dorado, a city full of gold lost somewhere in the rainforests of South
America. In fact, El Dorado is actually a legend about a Muisca Chieftain (the
Golden One) who would cover himself with gold dust before certain religious
ceremonies.
The real City of Gold is Paititi. In brief, the Spanish had been at
war with the Incas of Peru for nearly forty years and the Incas had retreated to
Vilcabamba Valley where they held off the invaders until 1572. When the Spanish
conquered the Incas they found the city largely deserted. It appeared as if the
Incas had fled to a new location in the rainforests of southern Brazil taking
their vast treasure of gold with them. The new city was never found nor was the
gold and eventually the story was relegated to the status of a myth.
However, in 2009 satellite photos of
deforested areas of the Boco do Acre region of Brazil have revealed that there
were once vast settlements. These can be clearly seen on Google Earth and have
forced historians and archaeologists to review their thinking. It now seems
possible once again that Paititi really did exist and hidden within it is a
potential hoard of lost Inca gold.
Estimated Value:
$10,000,000,000
$10,000,000,000
The Missing Kruger Millions
During the Second Anglo-Boer War the
South African descendants of the Dutch settlers, the Boers, realised that their
capital, Pretoria, would soon be captured by British troops so they swiftly
commandeered as much gold as they could from government reserves, banks and the
mines. They also minted many thousands of new gold coins. Much of this gold is
believed to have travelled with the Boer President, Paul Kruger, as he journeyed
eastwards through Middleburg, Machadadorp and Waterfal Boven towards Mozambique
to escape the advancing British. He departed, by ship, for France on the 19th of
October 1900.
The gold remained behind, hidden somewhere in the bushveld of the
North Eastern Transvaal. It has never been officially found although it is a
popular ‘scam’ for con men to try and sell the whereabouts of the gold to
gullible tourists. Claims that the treasure (or part of it) was discovered in
2001 close to Ermelo are generally considered somewhat dubious.
Estimated Value:
$250,000,000.00
$250,000,000.00
The Treasure of the Copper Scroll
Located to the west of the northern
tip of the Dead Sea and near to the town of Kalya is the Qumran archaeological
site. On a desert plateau carved by ravines are the caves where the famous Dead
Sea Scrolls were initially discovered by bedouin in 1946. The later excavation
of 11 caves by archaeologists sponsored by the Jordanian Department of
Antiquities uncovered 972 parchment and papyrus texts and two unusual scrolls
made of copper. These would turn out to be one scroll that had been divided into
two pieces.
This rare find was discovered on the
14th March 1952 at the back of Cave 3, somewhat separate from the other finds.
The scroll was badly oxidised and fragile to touch but it was obvious that it
was different from the other leather and paper scrolls – it was a detailed list
of 64 locations where significant amounts of gold and silver had been hidden. It
was written as if anyone reading it would have familiarity with the places
mentioned and is believed to have been created between 110 and 30 BCE. Although
many historians believe that some of the treasure may have been located by the
Romans during their occupation of the region it is reasonable to think that at
least some of the locations were never revealed.
For Example: Item 3. In the funeral
shrine, in the 3rd row of stones: One hundred gold ingots. Item 5: In the ascent
of the ‘staircase of refuge’, to the left-hand side, three cubits up from the
floor are forty talents of silver. Item 32: In the cave that is next to
(unknown) and belonging to the House of Hakkoz, dig six cubits. Within are six
ingots of gold.
Estimated Value:
$1.2 Billion +
$1.2 Billion +
The Treasure of the Flor de la Mar
The Flor de la Mar (Flower of the
Sea) was a 400 ton Portuguese carrack (frigate) built in Lisbon during 1502. The
naval history of the ship was impressive and it was involved in the battle of
Diu, the subjugation of Goa and the capture of Malacca.
Captained by Alfonso de Albuquerque
the ship was loaded with a vast treasure taken from Malacca as well as tributes
from the King of Siam. According to various historical accounts it was the
largest treasure ever assembled in the history of the Portuguese
navy.
The Flor de la Mar set sail for
Portugal, together with four other ships, but was caught in a violent storm in
the Straits of Malacca. On the 20th November 1511 it was shipwrecked on the
reefs of Sumatra. The ship broke in two and although Alfonso was saved, the
treasure and many young slaves were lost to the waves.
The exact location of the shipwreck
is confused, probably due to the inaccurate maps of the time. It is considered
the richest treasure still to be found.
Estimated Value:
$2.6 Billion + (54,431kg of Gold x $49,000 per Kg)
$2.6 Billion + (54,431kg of Gold x $49,000 per Kg)
The Lost Fabergé Eggs
In 1885 Tsar Alexander III (House of
Romanov) commissioned the production of the gold and enamel ‘Hen Egg’ for his
wife the Empress Maria which she adored. Fabergé was made ‘Goldsmith by Special
Appointment to the Imperial Crown’ and over the next 33 years 52 eggs were made
for the Russian Royal Family as well as a further 15 for other private
buyers.
The 1917 Russian Revolution toppled Tsar Nicholas II who was executed along with much of the royal family in July 1918. Fearing for his safety, Peter Carl Faberge abandoned Russia travelling first to Latvia then Germany and finally Switzerland where he died in Lausene in 1920.
The Fabergé eggs and many other
treasures of the Royal family were confiscated and
stored in the vaults of the Kremlin Armoury. Some were sold to raise funds for
the new regime. Over time eight of the original 52 Imperial eggs have vanished
and their whereabouts remain a mystery to this day. A full list of missing eggs
is below. In 2007, just one egg, ‘The Rothschild’ was sold at Christies Auction
House for $8,9 million.
Peter Carl Fabergé (also known as
Karl Gustavovich Fabergé) and his brother Agathon were Russian jewellers of
French descent based in St. Petersburg. They rapidly became famous for the
extraordinary quality and beauty of their work.
The Missing
Eggs: (1886) The Hen Egg with Sapphire Pendant (1888) The Cherub
with Chariot Egg (PPC-USA) (1889) The Nécessaire Egg (PPC-UK) (1896) The Egg
with Alexander III Portraits (1897) The Mauve Egg (1902) Empire Nephrite Egg
(Alexander III Medallion) (1903) The Royal Danish (Jubilee) Egg (1909) The
Alexander III Commemorative Egg.
Estimated Value:
$90 – 150,000,000
$90 – 150,000,000
The San Miguel & The Lost 1715 Treasure Fleet
By 1712 AD Spain was desperately in
need of funds due to the War of Succession that had seen Phillip V take the
throne. To solve this problem the Spanish assembled one of the richest treasure
fleets. Come 1715 it consisted of five ships of the Nueva España (Mexico) fleet
and six ships of the Tierra Firme (Main Land) fleet. Significant amounts of
silver (plate), gold, pearls, jewels (emeralds) and other precious items were
loaded at Vera Cruz, Cartagena, Nombre de Dios and Portobello.
A further ship, a
French merchantman, the Griffon, also joined the convoy. As a further defence
against pirates and privateers the fleet waited until just before the hurricane
season before setting off from Havana. This was a mistake and a storm destroyed
the fleet just seven days after leaving Cuba. Thousands of sailors died. Over
the next four years the Spanish salvaged about half of the treasure although
pirates hampered their efforts. Items of treasure still occasionally wash up on
nearby shores.
Largely due to the efforts of Kip Wagner, a marine treasure
hunter, seven of the ships have been located but only a small percentage of the
treasure has been recovered. The San Miguel, a Nao class vessel, has yet to be
found and is believed to have separated from the fleet the day before the storm
struck. Carracks are lighter than Galleons and were often used to carry treasure
as they stood a greater chance of outrunning storms and privateers. The
objective, after all, was to get the treasure home. This could mean that the San
Miguel is actually one of the richest treasure ships yet to be found.
Ships of the 1715
Spanish (Plate) Treasure Fleet that have never been
found:
Nueva Espana Fleet – General Juan de
Ubilla – The Maria Galante – Frigatilla / Frigate
Tierra Firma Fleet – General Antonio
de Echeverz – Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion – NAO Class (Carrack) – The (El
Senor) San Miguel -NAO Class (Fast Carrack) – El Ciervo (La Franecsa ) Galera
Class (Galley)
Estimated Value:
$2 billion
$2 billion
The Amber Room
The original treasure room was a set
of extraordinary wall panels made from purest amber, set in and on gold and
mirrors. These panels were installed to create a room that was effectively
coated with amber and gold. It was designed by Andreas Schlüter an architect
from Hamburg, Germany and constructed at the Charlottenburg Palace in Prussia,
between 1701 and 1709 by the renowned amber specialist Gottfried Wolfram of the
Royal Court of Denmark.
In 1716 the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm I, gave
it to the ruler of the Russian Empire, Tsar Peter the Great to seal an alliance
against Sweden. It was taken first to the original Winter Palace in St.
Petersburg and then later moved to the Catherine Palace near the same city where
it was expanded by a team of German and Russian craftsmen. On completion it used
5,440 kg of Amber and was 17 meters in length. Considered to be unique and
priceless it was the central showpiece of the palace and famous in aristocratic
circles. In 1941 it was discovered by invading German soldiers and dismantled.
Apparently it was packed into 27 crates and shipped to Königsberg, near the
Baltic Coast, where it was put on display. In 1943 it was stored at Königsberg
Castle.
Officially it was destroyed in an WWII Allied bombing raid but
significant evidence suggests that it was actually shipped out of the city in
the latter months of the war and taken to be hidden along with many other
treasures acquired by the Nazi regime. Priceless, it is considered one of the
world’s greatest lost treasures. “There have been repeated claims in the media
by treasure hunters that they have discovered the location of the hidden Amber
room. Nevertheless none of them have actually produced the missing
panels.
There have been repeated claims in
the media by treasure hunters that they have discovered the location of the
hidden Amber room. Nevertheless none of them have actually produced the missing
panels. Estimates that the room would be worth $170,000,000 on the open market
are considered conservative. A replica of the room made from identical materials
has recently completed in Russia. It was opened by Russian President Vladimir
Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroederon the 31st May 2003.
Estimated Value:
$2 billion
$2 billion
The Treasure of the Knights Templar
The Knights Templar were a religious
military order formed in 1119 AD to protect Christian pilgrims on their journey
to holy lands of the Middle East. They established their headquarters on the
side of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and were declared a charity by Pope
Innocent II.
Over the decades donations from patrons made the Knights Templar the wealthiest and most powerful military order in Europe. They invented an early form of banking which made them even richer but unpopular with people who had borrowed money.
For nearly two hundred years
the Templars amassed a fortune in lands, castles, gold, silver, jewels and
precious objects. By 1291 AD the military prestige of the Knights Templar had
failed and they were forced out of the Middle East. Their popularity fell
further urged on by those who owed them money such as Phillip VI the King of
France.
On Friday the 13th of October 1307, and with the permission of the Pope,
Phillip VI arrested the key leaders of the Order based in France and tortured
them into confessions of heresy and devil worship. He seized their lands and
raided the treasury but found it much emptier than expected.
Across the rest
of Europe the remaining Knights seem to have moved swiftly to hide their
portable treasure. A month later Pope Clement II issued the ‘Pastoralis
Praeeminentiae’ which instructed heads of state to arrest all Templars and seize
their possessions which were to be given to another religious order – the
Knights Hospitaller. This was only partially carried out but it was already too
late. The vast treasure of the Knights Templar had largely disappeared and has
never been found.
An equally intriguing mystery is
what happened to the majority of Knights who were never arrested. At least
several thousand men as well as a flotilla of ships simply vanished. In
particular, 18 ships that had been berthed at La Rochelle, France, on the night
of the 12th of October 1307 set sail under the cover of darkness just before the
initial persecutions and passed out of history. A document, the Pergamino de
Chinon, found in the Vatican archives in 2002 now shows that Pope Clement II
actually absolved the Templars in 1308 AD.
Estimated Value:
$ Many Billions
$ Many Billions
The Oak Island Money Pit
This is probably the most excavated
site that has still failed to deliver up its treasure. Oak Island is
approximately 140 acres in size and located just off the southeast coast of Nova
Scotia. It is one of many small islands in the area and is now linked to the
mainland via a narrow causeway.
The story has been embellished and
distorted over the years but here are the basic facts. In 1795 Daniel McGinnis
(16) and a friend noticed a circular depression as if a pit had been dug and
then filled in again. Believing something of value may have been buried there
they dug to a depth of 9.1 metres. Initially they discovered a layer of
flagstones followed by traces of pickaxes on the rocks. Some stories say they
found platforms of logs approximately every 3 metres. They failed to find
anything of value but the story spread and was quickly linked to the missing
treasure of Captain Kidd and even the notorious Blackbeard – Edward Thatch
(Teach).
Over the following centuries the pit
has been excavated many times and prospectors have even included an American
president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It has not been an easy task and the pit is
claimed to be ‘booby trapped” and has regularly flooded. The most tantalising
clue found so far was a code inscription on a flat stone which, when translated,
apparently stated: “Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried.”
The deepest excavations reached 72
metres and over the years at least six people have died trying to find whatever
is buried on Oak Island.
Various theories pertaining to the
contents of the Oak Island Money Pit include:
– Captain Kidd’s Treasure –
Blackbeard’s Treasure – The Fortress of Louisbourg Treasury – The Missing Jewels
of Marie Antoinette – Spanish Gold from a Shipwreck – The Treasure of the
Knights Templar – Treasure of the Freemasons – A Storage Pit for Walrus Ivory –
Documents of Sir Francis Bacon
Estimated Value:
$Unknown
$Unknown
With many thanks to Britain
Explorer
Below: The Koh-i-Noor Diamond
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The Ark Of The Covenant
Spanish Galleon San Jose Discovered Laden With Treasure Off Colombia
Egyptian Mummy And Temple 4200 Years Old With Well-Preserved Art Revealed
The Foxfire Diamond
Below: The Koh-i-Noor Diamond
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The Most Expensive Substances In The World
Some Of The Rarest Jewels In The World
The Most Expensive Things in the World
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The “Oppenheimer Blue" Diamond Sells For $57.6 million at Christie's
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The Rare ‘Blue Moon’ Diamond Is All Set To Become The Most Expensive Jewel, When It Goes Up On Sale
Replica Of Louis XIV's Versailles Is The World’s Most Expensive Home - $416 million
Argyle Violet Diamond Expected To Fetch Up To $4m At Auction
The Lesedi la Rona Diamond Could Fetch $US70m
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The “Oppenheimer Blue" Diamond Sells For $57.6 million at Christie's
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Padmanabhaswamy Temple Treasure: Worth $22 Billion
The Bahia Emerald - The 400 Million Dollar Rock
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