I’m often confused by lotteries in the US. Most people don’t play them contending the odds are too astronomical. Then, when the payout amounts get to ridiculous levels – say the recent two-billion-dollar range – those same naysayers start spending $20 or more on each drawing. I guess that’s saying it’s not worth it to try to win $30 million, but it is for a billion? It’s a curious threshold.
The same logic follows when it comes to finding lost treasure. Too many believe the odds are too remote. So, they don’t look. They might be stunned at just how many treasure hunters do find treasure ranging from a few dollars to many millions....
That was the case for a young couple with the pseudonyms of “Tom” and “Mary.” They took walks on their property in Sierra Nevada, California called “Saddle Ridge.” They often meandered a path on which a few old, rusting cans stuck out near the base of a tree. On one of those walks, Tom decided to take a closer look at the “garbage.” He was able to pry open one of the cans. Inside he saw the edge of what might have been a gold coin. After a bit more work, he fully opened it. It was filled to the brim with piles of gleaming gold coins dating back from 1847 to 1894.
The couple returned multiple times. The site eventually produced more cans and a total of 1,427 coins, mostly vintage $20 gold pieces called “Double Eagles.” In all, there was almost $28,000 in face value. However, the gold value was well north of $10 million. It gets better. Some of the dates and mint marks on the coins were so numismatically rare, it’s probable to double that amount.
Now, travel to the Namibia desert in 2008. That year, after rare flood waters receded, a few men noticed the remains of a ship in the sand. Most curious, they contacted the government (most always a bad idea.)
The government excavated to find the Portuguese ship “Bom Jesus.” It had disappeared off the Namibian coast 500 years ago. It was rumored to be en-route to India filled with gold. It was. Excavators found $13 million in gold coins and ingots. No word if the government shared the spoils.
Then, over to France. In Paris, a couple weeding through old belongings in their musty attic spied an old vase that looked much like the “genie in a bottle” container. It appeared Asian. Eventually, they casually took it to Sotheby’s to have someone look at it. That someone identified is as an ancient rarity from the Qing Dynasty. They estimated it could sell for upwards of $825,000. They were wrong. When it went on the block, the vase sold for an amazing $19 million.
Back to another attic…this one in the US. The California owner of an old trunk in their attic dug through it to find a stack of handwritten pages. They turned out to be a variation of the novel Huckleberry Finn. Better yet, the handwriting proved to be none other than that of Sam Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain himself.
Years prior, the manuscript had been sent to Buffalo, NY. It was forgotten about and the whereabouts unknown. The trunk’s owner turned out to be a granddaughter of one of Twain’s friends. The manuscript is valued upwards of $1.5 million. I’d wager it’s worth multiple times that.
One of my favorites stems from a lowly flea market in Pennsylvania. An admittedly ugly painting was housed in a nice frame. A man bought it to use the frame for another print he had. When he removed the ugly painting, behind it was – I’m not making this up – a print of the Declaration of Independence. Loads of cheap, modern copies of that exist. Not this one.
The print found in the frame proved to be a first printing of the Declaration dating to 1776. Only 200 were printed that year. Of those, 26 are said to survive. The 2013 value would be somewhere near $5 million.
There are hundreds more examples ranging from a pile of gold coins found in a piano to an excellent copy of Action Comics #1 – with the debut of Superman – worth over $200,000 being used as insulation in a wall.
Granted, be it the lottery or hidden treasure there are no guarantees. And, the odds may not be great. But, as has been often been said, “You can’t win if you don’t play” (or look).
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