You’ve seen the articles online and in the news.
- Phoenix man pays $6.00 for a watch at his local Goodwill. He finds out it’s a 1959 LaCoultre Deep Sea Alarm. He ends up selling it for $35,000 online.
- A bargain hunter in Pennsylvania discovered an original copy of the Declaration of Independence in a frame he paid $4.00 for. After discovering what it was; sold it for $2.4 million.
- A scrap dealer pays $14,000 for gold Faberge egg he knew was worth the money in gold. After further research finds out it was an easter gift from Czar Alexander III to his wife, Maria Feodorovna in 1887. It eventually sells for $33 million.
Antiques Roadshow is another widely popular show that highlights treasures found by ordinary people.
There are also numerous websites dedicated to lost treasures. Here are some examples:
- The Britain Explorer’s Top Ten Lost Treasures
- Mysterious Heartland, is much closer to home.
- Lost Treasure Magazine is another wonderful resource.
Discovering lost treasures stories have always been fun and fascinating to me. If I ever decide to change careers I might become a professional treasure hunter. I wrote this article so at least I have a place to start. It’s also my way of keeping track of all those notes I have in the back of my mind. I keep telling myself. In need to look into that. Or sometimes I read a headline and think to myself, “that was interesting, I should write that down and look into later.”
So this article is my attempt at a quick brain dump so to speak, and my start at trying to keep track of all the lost treasure ideas and bits of information I come across. As I find more I’ll add it to the blog.
The most intriguing current lost treasure for me is from Forrest Fen. To read more about it head over to Forrest Fenn Treasures website. And here is another resource worth the read.
Another intriguing lost treasure are the Faberge Eggs.
Since quitting my job at this point in my life and dedicating it to finding the more exotic treasures is not practical. The following treasure hunting ideas are more accessible. They may not get me the BIG score or find of a lifetime, but at least they are accessible and family fun.
- Hunting and finding diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State park.
- Panning for gold in Californian or Alaska.
- Finding Lost Depression era post office art. “Rural Mail” painted for the Wausau federal building and post office. “Cherry pickers” this is a wood carving, originally 3 pieces, one or all are missing from the Traverse City Michigan post office. I continue to keep my eyes out for both.”Rural Mail” is the photo you see at the top of this article. It was taken from the National Archives, which shows the artist: Gerritt Sinclar painting his mural. This was installed in the Wausau, Wisconsin Federal Building in the late 1930’s. The whereabouts of the mural is unknown. I’ll continue to look for it, but if you happen to find it before me. I’d love to hear from you.
Are you fascinated with lost treasures, If you had all the time in the word which lost treasure would you dedicate your time finding? Please comment and share below.
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Sincerely yours,
Dave Gates
