36 EXTRAORDINARY TREASURES THAT WERE DISCOVERED BY ORDINARY PEOPLE

 

Take one: You wake up, get ready, go to work, it’s a usual day. None of us expects something unusual or different in our day to day lives. Every day is the same, it comes and goes.

Take two: You wake up, you get ready, and as soon as you go for gardening, you discover an antique treasure that could cost a fortune and you are rich overnight. The day will not be the same as all the other days.

The list of these people is worth reading, where they are themselves taken aback when they are doing nothing exceptional but end up finding an extraordinary treasure!

The Staffordshire Hoard

A man named Terry Herbert while searching farmland found some gold artifacts and this discovery led to further exhumation in upcoming days. English Heritage, a registered charity paid archaeologists for digging which led them to unearth more than 3,500 different individual items that were bought by the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery bought for more than £3 million at an auction. This incident took place in 2009.

The Saddle Ridge Hoard

In 2013, a couple discovered 1,427 different Liberty head coins that were buried in Sierra Nevada, California. It is considered to be the largest discovery of gold coins in the history of the United States. the coins had a face value of $28,000 back in the late 19th century.

The Ringlemere Cup

Cliff Bradshaw, a British man while detecting on Ringlemere Farm excavated a gold cup that was dented. After researching, it was claimed to be a Bronze Age Artifact. The dented cup led to many other discoveries and was sold around $500k.

Pereshchpina Treasure

In 1912, a shepherd boy of Ukrainian stumbled over a golden vessel. He found himself in the grave of Kubrat who was the founder of the First Bulgarian Empire. The treasure trove he discovered contained gold stuff, jewelry, and iron sword making the items 800 in the count.

The Panagyuriste Treasure

In 1949, three brothers of Bulgaria unearthed the most valuable treasure ever discovered in the history of the country. The Panagyuriste Treasure is made up of nine items and has the origin of the third or fourth century BC. The items were perfectly decorated and considered to be priceless.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

A series of manuscripts which was mostly made up of religious writings was discovered near the Dead Sea. When found in fragments, researchers decided to assemble it. Astonishingly, that manuscript turned out to be created in the third century BCE and first century CE. They are considered to be the oldest surviving manuscript of the Hebrew Bible and hold great religious and cultural significance.

Crosby Garrett Helmet

In 2009, A college graduate of England unearthed a helmet which was later named Crosby Garrett Helmet. It was auctioned for $3.6 million and beautifully stands in a  private exhibition set up in the house of the owner.

Hand Of Faith Gold Nugget

In 1980, Hand of Faith was unearthed by an Australian metal detectorist named Kevin Hillier. It is entitled as the second-largest in the world as it is a  960-ounce nugget. Presently, it is being displayed at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ty Cobb Baseball Cards

Rarely found Ty Cobb Baseball cards were discovered by an eight-year-old in his attic. The cards that he found are of the year 1901 and are not more than 15 in number.

 The Antikythera Treasures

Greek divers, while diving 1900 off the coast of Antikythera, successfully discovered treasures from a ship that sank in 65 B.C. The treasure consisted of pottery, bronze statues, weapons and a weird mechanism which is known to be the world’s oldest analog computer.

 Venus de Milo

In the year 1820, while digging his field to gather stones, a farmer came across a statue which is now considered to be the most famous in the world. The statue currently is displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris and claim to be established around 150 B.C.

 San Jose Galleon

In 2015, a vast array of treasure was found near the coast of Columbia. San Jose Galleon is considered to be a Spanish vessel carrying a huge amount of gold, silver, and other emeralds to Peru. The vessel was destroyed by a British ship during the War of Spanish Succession.

 The Belitung Shipwreck

In 1998, Indonesian fishermen discovered a boat that was later claimed to have been sailing from Africa to China. It is believed that the ship along with millions of dollars worth of rubies, crystal, and sapphire sank off the coast of Indonesia around 830 A.D.

The Cuerdale Hoard

In 1840 England, a group of workers in Cuerdale discovered more than 8,600pieces of Viking Silver. It is believed to be of the 9th century. This discovery was the largest collection outside of Russia.

The Watlington Hoard

This massive Viking silver collection was unearthed by a man named James Mather in 2015. Over 200 Anglo-Saxon coins and other various pieces of precious metals of Vikings were found. To James’ surprise, the whole treasure is worth $1.8 million today!

 Santa Margarita Gold Chalice

In 2008, a treasure hunter named Mike DeMar found a chalice with the help of his metal detector. This discovery was made in Key largo, Florida. The value of the chalice was then estimated to be $1.3 million as it was 385 years old.

Guennol Lioness

A tiny sculpture of a lioness-woman was discovered in the early twentieth-century by a man named Sir Leonard Wooly in Iraq. The experts, after researching claimed that it was sculpted around 3000 B.C. in Mesopotamia. It is one of the oldest artifacts of human civilization and has a worth of over $57 million.

The Boot Of Cortez

An amateur treasure hunter from Mexico in 1989 while scanning the nearby area with the help of his metal detector, unearthed a giant 26.6-pound golden nugget that seemed like a boot. it was then named “The Boot Of Cortez”.

 The Hoxne Hoard

The Hoxne Hoard was discovered in the village of Suffolk, England. It was then purchased by the British Museum in London for $4.3 million. It is believed to be a fourth-century Roman artifact.

The Treasure Of Nasgyzentmiklos

In 1799, the Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós was discovered in Central Europe. It is made up of 23 gold vessels and weighs around 22 pounds. It is being displayed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. No clear evidence related to its origin could be found to date.

Treasure Chest

A group of people in the Netherlands with their common hobby of exploring led in the discovery of a big wooden treasure chest in the middle of the forest. The contents of the box are still a mystery as the people never got to open the wooden treasure box.

The Środa Treasure

In 1985, renovation work was in process in an old building of Środa Śląska. As the building demolished, the workers found a vase beneath the foundation that contained 3000 silver coins of the 14th century. After a couple of years, another building was knocked down and many more artifacts were discovered.

The Cuerdale Hoard

A group of workmen while repairing the embankment of the River Ribble in Cuerdale discovered a led box. Inside the box, there were hoards of Viking treasures contributing to 8600 items that included silver coins, jewelry, and silver ingots.

Superman Comic Book

In 2013, while renovating a house, a contractor named David Gonzalez discovered a scarce edition of Action Comics, in which Superman makes his initial appearance. The edition sat in a Minnesota home’s wall for over 75 years. It costs Gonzalez almost $50,000 of the total price.

Magnolias On Gold Velvet Cloth

The third most valuable painting by Martin Johnson Heade had been covering a hole in the wall of an Indiana home. One day, the family played a game about out and it was only then they realized that the painting hung there was called Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth. 

The Preslav Treasure

In the vineyard of Castana, the pieces having origin between the third and seventh centuries were found in 1978. Preslav was first conquered in between 969 and 972 and these amazing items were hidden away to keep them out of the hands of the victors.

Roger Baillon’s Classic Cars

Roger Baillon, an entrepreneur from the 1950s left his farm to his grandsons before dying. When his grandsons became adults, they went to the farm and discovered many cars that were rusted. The cars were pre-war automobiles and have a value of $15 million.

Treasure Of Nirmud

In 2003, an Iraqi treasure called Treasure of Nimrud was discovered. The treasure managed to survive over the periods of unrest and looting. The treasure contains a golden crown and 613 pieces of gold jewelry along with precious stones created in the eighth or ninth century B.C.

The Florentine Diamond

The Florentine Diamond having Indian origin was discovered by a Medici Family. It is believed that after the Medici Family handed over the diamond to the Imperial Family of Australia. When World War 1 broke out, the Imperial Family was forced into exile and took the diamond along with them. After that, the diamond was never seen again.

The Siebenberg House Artifacts

Theo Siebenberg, the owner of a Jewish Quater in Old City, Israel, uncovered a cache of various items of archeological significance. He bought the house in 1970 and after 18 years of digging beneath it, he uncovered the ancient era buried in the soil with time. He discovered some rooms and even sights of ritual baths known as Mikvahs used 3,000 years ago during the reign of Kung Solomon.

The Hanuman Dhoka Palace Treasure

In 2011, an ancient palace was undergoing renovations when the workers uncovered three boxes containing gold and silver ornaments weighing about three kilograms and 80 kilograms. The boxes had not been opened for the centuries and were locked in a storehouse. These boxes belonged to the Malla Kings of 1200 A.D.

The Ophel Treasure

In September 2013, during an archeological excavation in Jerusalem. The Ophel treasure was discovered that consisted of 36 gold coins, a medallion that has a menorah depicted on it along with two others as well as a coil and a couple of pendants that were ornamented on a Torah scroll. These items belonged to the Byzantine period.

Black Swan Project

In the year 2007, Salvage firm Odyssey Marine Exploration found a staggering $500 million worth of gold and silver coins using a metal detector. According to the Odyssey, the gold was being carried by the Spanish frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, but, in the middle of the journey, the ship was wrecked and the treasure sank along in 1804.

Titanic

This shipwreck itself is the treasure. Titanic made her voyage in the year 1912 but unfortunately, the ship met with a fatal accident and sunk in the North Atlantic. The discovery of this ship was made after 70 years of its accident, in the year 1985.

The Atocha

In 1985, the sunken “mother lode” was found near the coast of Key West, Florida. The ship was referred to as the “Atocha” and was loaded with a treasure in 1622 when she left Havana. The ship sailed into a hurricane and sunk into the depths of the ocean. 

The Esmeralda

In 2016, the oldest shipwreck from Europe’s Age of Exploration was authenticated. Vasco da Gama’s Esmeralda, which was wrecked in a storm in 1503 was recovered.  It was originally found in 1998 but it was not excavated until two decades. The ship bell, rare coins, and other artifacts helped in identifying the Ship.