Found in the 1980s in the town of Środa Ślaska, Poland, the Środa Treasure is a 14th-century hoard of gold and silver coins, precious stones, jewelry, and a gold crown. It is worth a cool $120 million. Workers discovered the hoard during demolition work in 1985.
The Treasure of San Miguel
The San Miguel was a Spanish ship carrying large amounts of precious metals and stones that the Spanish king hoped to sell to fund his ongoing War of Succession. In 1715, it sunk in a storm off of Cuba and has never been found.
Ship of Gold
One of the greatest lost treasures in U.S. history, the SS Central America went down off the coast of South Carolina in a hurricane in 1857, loaded with Gold Rush gold.
There is no such thing as "finder's keepers" in Australia. "A lot of people don't realise that if you find anything worth more than $100 you have to hand that in to the police," Preston said. "If you keep or sell it, it's called theft by finding and it's a chargeable offence."
According to estimates by the US National Oceanic Service, the gold from the depths of the oceans is so diluted that there is only one gram of this precious yellow metal for every 100 million metric tons of water.
A 2009 NASA mission—in which a rocket slammed into the moon and a second spacecraft studied the blast—revealed that the lunar surface contains an array of compounds, including gold, silver, and mercury, according to PBS.
Weiberg (also spelt Wiberg) was a ship's carpenter aboard the SS Avoca who, in 1877, managed to steal 5,000 gold sovereigns that would be worth millions of dollars today. A history book published in 1964 by Kenneth W Byron called Lost Treasures in Australia and New Zealand described how Weiberg managed the feat.
If you're in the Northern Territory, ACT or South Australia, you don't need a permit but remember that treasure hunting, fossicking and prospecting in national parks is banned right across Australia.
If you discover gold or other minerals or gemstones on land not covered by a mining tenement, and the ground is Crown land (under the Mining Act 1978), then you are free to keep what you have found (as long as you hold a Miner's Right).
The largest monetary treasure haul found was on the wreck code named Black Swan, discovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2007 off of Gibraltar. The salvage team reportedly found 17 tons of coins valued at $500 million; an amount that is both staggering and said to be “unprecedented” in the treasure hunting world.
While many of the goods taken were delicate or consumable, and have since been lost, substantial pirate hauls of precious metals are still thought to exist. Only one – the Wydah Galley Treasure – has been found, having previously been one of the most sought-after pirate treasures on the planet.
Mel Fisher was a dreamer, a visionary, a legend and most importantly, the World's Greatest Treasure Hunter.
Though many have tried, the lost treasure of Blackbeard remains unfound to this day. Legend has it that while his death occurred in North Carolina, his spirit has returned to protect that which he holds most dear.
Naturally, the fortuitous party who discovered the loot wants it considered abandoned and thus “finders-keepers.” Finding hidden treasure in the home you own is usually yours to keep under the law.
Of all the locations, our oceans and seas probably harbour the largest collection of them. The United Nations has estimated at least three million shipwrecks are lying across our ocean floors. Some of those wrecks could be of immense historical significance and even contain monetary treasure.
The low-down on gold panning
Make sure you have permission to pan for gold, as no one would be happy to find you trespassing on their land. You'll need to pick up a Miner's Right Permit to do any prospecting in Australia. You can easily apply for one online or at some tourist centres.
If you want to fossick in Victoria, you need a current fossicking permit known as a miner's right. A miner's right allows you to remove and keep minerals discovered on Crown Land, your own land or private land (where the landowner has given permission).
Australia (especially Western Australia) is the one of the world's top producers of gold. About 60% of Australia's gold resources occur in Western Australia, with the remainder in all other States and the Northern Territory.
As of 2023, only three of the twelve boxes have been found. Preiss kept no record of the treasure boxes' exact locations before his death, leaving it a possibility that the remaining boxes may never be recovered.
The Whydah sank in 1717 carrying hundreds of thousands of gold coins and other artifacts. It is the only pirate treasure ever found. More is still being found at the wreck site off the coast of Cape Cod. The Whydah sank in 1717 carrying hundreds of thousands of gold coins and other artifacts.
In 2004, divers discovered an iron cannon that may have belonged to the fleet off the Melbourne Beach shoreline. Subsequent expeditions yielded silver platters, a flintlock pistol, ship timbers and other artifacts. Torres called the Jan. 14 find the most significant in his company's history.
2. History Supreme Yacht: $4.8 Billion.
How Much Treasure is Down There? The short answer, Sean Fisher says, is $60 billion. Fisher is a shipwreck hunter at Mel Fisher's Treasures in Key West (Sean is Mel's grandson), and he gives this figure based on his company's historical research.